The Knight Of Chaos
by SaiyanWarriorsPride
Summary: Natsu has a younger brother, whose life is turned upside down when the Dragon's attack his village destroying everything. This is his journey as he is forced to choose sides, that will inevitably change the outcome of his story. Follow him as he faces betrayal, heart ache, pain and joy on his journey.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : **Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima. I do not own Fairy Tail nor any of it's character's, except my OC.**

Chapter 1

Zeref Dragneel stood in the centre, as chaos reigned all around him. The Dragon's had attacked their village out of nowhere, none of them were prepared for such an attack. He looked in his arms to find his youngest brother asleep, sleeping peacefully but had begun to awake hearing all the commotion. "It's alright Hiro look at me" Zeref tried to console the crying baby "Your brother's here and I promise, I wont let anything happen to you" he said hugging the child close as he ran away from all the fire and chaos trying to find a safe place.

"Zeref….over here" came a voice as he turned to find his Uncle standing in the trees. "Uncle….where were…you ?" Zeref began to cry as Hiro began to wail as well. Zeref tried to muffle his brother's cries, to avoid attracting the attention of the Dragon's.

Acnologia pulled Zeref close hugging him tight, as the tears ran down his face "I thought I lost all of you" he turned his head looking around "Where are the other's. Your Dad, Mom ….Natsu ?" he asked surprised. Zeref tried to hold back his tears "Dad and Natsu went out, it was just me, Mom and Hiro. When the attack happened, Mom was worried sick about Dad and Natsu. She asked me to take Hiro and run to safety and that she'd find Dad and Natsu and that they would come find me". Acnologia held Zeref close as he sobbed into his chest, the baby Hiro looked on and began to smile as he recognized Acnologia.

Zeref stared sadly at his brother, who looked at him a confused look on his innocent face. Acnologia looked at the two of them as the realization dawned on him "You must be crazy, to think that I'll let you go back into that hell" Acnologia remarked glaring at Zeref as he held onto his arm dragging him deeper into the woods.

Zeref resisted before pulling his arm away, he handed Hiro over to Acnologia before addressing him "Please Uncle, for all we know they maybe searching for us. I need to go back and look for them" he pleaded to Acnologia. "Then I'm coming with you" Acnologia stated firmly as he held Hiro close, the baby had gone back to slumbering peacefully. "No…" Zeref downright declined the offer. "What do you mean no…?" Acnologia demanded " They are my family too…that's my brother over there dammit" he screamed at his nephew, furious. "Please Uncle…." Zeref fired back but his voice broke " I can't take Hiro back there either. I promised Mom, I would keep him safe and I don't think anyone would keep him more safe than you". Acnologia looked at the child asleep in his arms then back at Zeref "You come back…. you hear me, you find them and you come right back. I'll be at Anna's house" he clarified.

Zeref just nodded as he turned to go back a voice stopped him in his track "Ze…zu" Hiro blurted out stretching his little arm's towards his brother. Zeref turned with tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he stared at his little brother "Hey…there Hiro, I gotta go lil buddy. I need to go find Dad,Mom and your elder brother too. You want to see them too don't you ?" he asked. Hiro just looked at Zeref curiously "Da…da…" he cooed, "Yeah buddy…I'll go get them, you stay with Uncle Acnologia till we return alright" Zeref grinned at his brother.

Hiro looked at Acnologia then back at Zeref who wiped his eyes on his sleeve and had begun to run back into the smoke and debris as Hiro looked on sniffing and then turning to stare back at his Uncle before clinging onto him.

Acnologia stared at the child and after Zeref, he felt the rage piling up inside him _"What did we ever do to these Dragon's ?. What did this child and his family ever do to them ?". _Acnologia growled out angrily as he punched a hole into a tree. He looked at the kid in his arms whispering to him "I promise you kid, I'm going to make them pay for everything that they've done".

* * *

Anna Heartfilia almost had a heart attack when she suddenly heard pounding on her door "Who is…it ?" she demanded, her hands on her keys. "Anna…it's me Acnologia open up" came the reply as she unlocked the door. "Ace…what are you doing here…?" she asked surprised, that was when she noticed the baby in his arms. "What's going on…?" she asked worried. "Dragon's…." Acnologia replied "They were everywhere. Zeref, he…he went back I…had no choice….I had to keep Hiro safe. I just didn't know what to do" Acnologia groaned holding his head and falling to the floor exhausted.

"Ace…it's ok tell me what's going on…?" she asked concern etched in her voice as she took the baby from his arms. "Dragon's…Anna…they attacked our village, none of the villager's ever saw it coming. I wasn't there but my brother and his family weren't so lucky, my nephew Zeref managed to save his youngest brother. The rest of his family though are still trapped there" Acnologia choked as Anna passed him a glass of water.

Anna placed a comforting hand on Acnologia's shoulder as he rested his head on her hand. "It's ok the two of you will be safe here" she replied "We'll go look for your family first thing in the morning". She looked at the child smiling at him, she began to tickle the child as he started gigling.

But Acnologia hadn't moved an inch, "What's wrong Ace….?" Anna asked him concerned. "I'm not waiting until morning" he replied. "Don't be crazy Ace…it's dark outside you won't even notice the Dragon's coming" she reprimanded him. "Anna I promise, I won't stop until I've found them….or until I've eliminated those damned Dragon's, this I promise" Acnologia replied. "Ace…" Anna tried to reason with him. "Please Anna, I can't take Hiro with me. It's too dangerous and I need to find Zeref as well, until then please look after him" he pleaded with her. Anna looked at his blue eyes piercing into her own brown eyes. "Ace...don't be crazy I have no experience dealing with kids" she pleaded. "I know you can handle it, you're the only one I trust Anna" he said smiling a warm smile at her. Anna couldn't help but give in "Fine Ace…but I swear if you're just dumping a kid on me….you're a dead man". "You're the best Anna" Acnologia grinned at her kissing her on her head before turning to his nephew "I'll be coming back for you little one" he whispered before he left through the door. "Well let's get you fixed up shall we" she whispered to the baby who just looked at her, his eyes filled with wonder at the appearance of a new face.

It had been a few month's and Anna had begun to worry whether, either Zeref or Acnologia were ever going to return, but she had her hand's full with the addition of Hiro in her life. The kid though still a baby,behaved like he had an unlimited supply of energy. Most of her day was spent running after him, feeding him, searching for him, bathing him and then the event's would repeat, though not necessarily in the same order.

This day was different though, as Anna was done feeding Hiro and had just gotten him to fall asleep there was a knock on her door. "Ace….can't believe it you're back" she replied opening the door enthusiastically, as her excitement waned, when she realized it was Zeref instead. "Zeref..where were you ?" she asked concerned as she pulled him close into a hug.

Zeref's face turned red as he politely replied "I'm sorry Miss Anna" he began "Oh c'mon there's no need for formalities over here" she responded. "Uh…well I'm still sorry that I didn't contact you sooner" he replied. "That's ok, I do understand you've had your hand's full Anna replied "How are your parents and your brother ?" she asked eagerly. Zeref clenched his fists as tears fell down his face "They're dead…", Anna felt her heart break, looking at the anguish on Zeref's face "I'm so sorry Zeref" she replied trying to comfort him . "I don't need your pity" he barked at her. Anna was taken aback by the sudden outburst but she held her nerve as she looked at Hiro sleeping peacefully in the adjacent room "It will be tough saying goodbye to him though…." she replied trying to change the subject, as Zeref turned to look at his brother sleeping peacefully.

"That's what I'm here to talk about" he began "I've been approached by the Magic Academy, now that I'm an Orphan" he choked at the last part. "They've agreed to give me a place to stay and continue my education based on my previous excellent performance. I know this is asking too much but I need you to take care of Hiro a little longer" he requested politely. "Zeref, he's your brother he deserves to be with you and what about Acnologia…?" she asked him. "I haven't heard from Uncle, since the day of the attack" he responded. "Zeref still think about him he's growing up, what do I tell him about the whereabouts of his family….?" she begged him. "Don't worry Anna, I have a plan…." he replied. "Zeref you and Ace are going to end up destroying yourself over revenge" she pleaded. "Don't worry Anna….i have no intention on seeking revenge, I have an entirely different plan. And I will make it work at any cost" he replied.

"Until…then please look after Hiro a little longer ?" this time Zeref pleaded with tears in his eyes. "Fine…." Anna gave in once again "But I swear Zeref if he ever question's your whereabouts I'm bringing him straight to you at the Academy" she remarked. "That's fine…." Zeref answered as he gave a gentle kiss to his sleeping brother before taking leave.

A year and a half later, Hiro had grown up. He was now four years old, Anna was his teacher,his mother and his friend. He had learned early enough, not to mention anything about his family as it upset Anna anytime he did. Though she did tell him some thing's, but most of the thing's she would just deflect and tell him he would understand better when he was older.

One day as he played around the house, while Anna completed chores. He felt an immense pressure In the atmosphere and he couldn't understand what it was. Anna on the other hand was on guard, as she called on Loke. "You…look amazing today Miss Anna…" he began but Anna interrupted him. She didn't have to explain anything as Loke had sensed the magic pressure too.

The pressure increased, as suddenly the door flew open "Geez guess…I overdid it, still getting the hang on reigning in my power" came a voice. "Ace…." Anna screamed in joy as she ran to him hugging him tight, Loke glared at the two of them as Anna just shook her head closing his gate. "Sorry for keeping you waiting this long Anna….." he smiled at her.

Anna couldn't believe her eyes as Acnologia walked inside searching for Hiro. While Anna stood near the door, her hands on her hip as she glared daggers at Acnologia. "Are you going to explain your absence ?" she demanded. "I'm really sorry Anna, but as you can see I had a good reason for it" he said as his aura spread even more. Anna looked at him amazed by the transformation "How….where did you manage to gain this kind of power ?" she asked.

Acnologia just grinned back at her "Oh…this ?. This is the kind of power that you inherit from a Dragon" he declared. Anna felt her whole world collapsing as she enquired "Where in the world did you manage to learn Dragon Slaying Arts from ?, if not from a…" she left her sentence hanging as the realization dawned on her. "That's right, I learnt these technique's from a Dragon. But that's all these are, techniques. I'm going to make this power my own and hone a Dragon Slaying Art like no other, a power that can be rivaled by no mortal or Dragon" Acnologia began to mumble lost in a daze.

"Ace…why are you here…?" Anna asked him afraid of his answer. "What…do you mean Anna…I'm here to relieve you of your burden. I am here…for my nephew" he replied. "Now…where's the boy Anna…?" he requested, but it sounded more like a demand to Anna. "Hiro…." Anna called out to him.

Upon hearing Anna call out to him, Hiro slowly stood up from his hiding place under the table as he moved towards her still afraid of the aura that he was sensing from Acnologia. He slowly moved towards Anna and hid behind her. Acnologia looked at Hiro hiding behind Anna "Now…now little one…come to me. Don't you remember your Uncle Acnologia ?" he smiled stretching his hand's out for him. Hiro looked at Anna, who smiled sweetly at him and pushed him gently towards Acnologia.

As Hiro approached Acnologia, the nearer he got the more vaguely he could remember his face from his memories. "Are you my Uncle ?" Hiro asked Acnologia his voice filled with innocence "Anna told me that I had a brother and an Uncle, and that when the time was right I would meet them" he grinned as Acnologia pulled him close the tears falling down onto Hiro. "Why are you crying Uncle ?. Are you hurt ?" the boy asked innocently as Acnologia felt the tears fall down rapidly. "No….little one. I only just imagined, how proud your Dad and Mom would be to see you grow up to be this clever and understanding. I have no doubt thanks to your upbringing" Acnologia replied smiling at Anna. Who just stood staring at the scene but returned his smile.

"Mom…Dad are they with you, is brother with you ?" Hiro asked excitedly as he started jumping up and down trying to move towards the door. Acnologia held onto him firmly "Now little one, I will tell you everything but I need you to listen carefully" he said looking at Hiro, who nodded his head, tears forming in his eyes already. "Ace…please he doesn't need to know all this, he's too young" Anna pleaded with him. "Anna…thank you for everything. From the bottom of my heart, I am truly grateful for all that you've done. But this is between me and my family. I am requesting you to stay out of this" Acnologia replied in a commanding tone, one that scared Anna, sending chills up her spine.

"Now Hiro…not only did you have a Mom and Dad, but you also had two brother's" Acnologia began. "Two brother's…?" Hiro exclaimed jumping for joy. Anna could see that Acnologia was trying to be patient with the child. "Yes…their name's were Zeref and Natsu, now all was fine until one day. These monster's attacked your village". "Mon…monster's ?" Hiro screamed running to hide behind Anna, who embraced him in her arms. "Boy…come back here right….now ?" Acnologia demanded as Hiro began to cry but untangled himself from Anna and began to walk slowly towards Acnologia. "Ace…" Anna began but was silenced by a stare so frightening from Acnologia that she felt herself paralyze from fear.

"Hiro…" Acnologia began when the boy reached him "I've got one rule, obey me…no matter what and no harm will come to you, to us…" he corrected himself as Hiro sniffed wiping away his tears. "Now as I was saying these monster's are called Dragon's and they probably have your parent's". "They do….? he asked surprised. "Indeed they do….and they probably have your brother's as well" Acnologia added before turning to look at Anna expecting an interruption, when she didn't interrupt however Acnologia continued " So… you see Hiro, I have worked hard and finally achieved the power to destroy these monster's once and for all. And I'll need your help to do that" he declared. "Why do you need my help, if you really are that strong, why don't you destroy them yourself ?" Hiro questioned. "Ah…now you see Hiro…when Anna is working doesn't she ask you to help her out in whatever small way that you can…?" Acnologia questioned him in return. Hiro nodded his head in answer. "So…you see in that same manner I need you to help me bring these monster's down and who to trust more than family" Acnologia replied.

"Not to say but for all we know, their next target maybe Anna" he said as Hiro's face turned pale, "No I will protect Anna" he replied stretching his little arm's out in front of Anna. "That's right Hiro….but to do that, you would have to grow strong like your Uncle…right here" Acnologia replied as Hiro stared at him. "If I grow strong like you, can I protect Anna…?" Hiro asked him. "Yes…and I'm confident that together we will find your parent's and brother's as well" Acnologia added, a huge smile appeared on Hiro's face. "Alright I'm ready then" Hiro said standing close to Acnologia.

"Ace…please he's just a little boy" Anna finally managed to blurt out. Acnologia moved towards her, his face inches from her's "Anna…look at me" he said forcing her to look into his eyes. The next thing Acnologia knew, he flew away from Anna landing on his head. Loke stood his light shining bright as he glared at Acnologia "Don't you dare touch her" he declared, as Hiro stood rooted to the spot not moving an inch. "Loke no….go back" Anna declared trying to force close his gate but before either Loke or Anna could make a move, Acnologia moved so fast that Anna thought he teleported as his hands clasped around Loke's throat. A purple aura formed around his fists as he blocked a sneak attack that Loke was planning. "You can block my light, what are you….?" Loke asked. "Your worst nightmare" Acnologia growled at him. "Ace…please don't do this…"Anna pleaded with him. Upon hearing her plead, Acnologia released Loke and stepped back, as Anna force closed his gate.

Hiro who still hadn't moved looked at the two of them. Acnologia bent down to ruffle his hair "Did you see what I did there…?" he asked him, Hiro grinned at the question "You were there" he said "And then you disappeared and appeared there" Hiro began talking animatedly. "You see if you come with me you could do the same thing's and more" he whispered. "Really…?" the young boy asked excited. As Anna began to try and talk to Acnologia. He interrupted her before she could begin, addressing her "You…. have no idea, the hell that I've been through and the thing's that I have achieved, in the time that I have been away". He said turning to look out through the door into the woods. "I am a force to be reckoned with out there and this little guy right here has the blood of us Dragneel's running through him, could you imagine what the two of us could do together ?" he asked her his voice filled with excitement.

"Ace….please, don't fill his innocent heart with your vengeance" she cried as the tears fell from her face. Hiro walked towards her "Anna, please don't cry I won't let anything happen to you. I will protect you always" he said smiling at her. Anna choked at his words and pulled him close, sobbing profusely.

"Hiro….time to go..." Acnologia commanded. Hiro hesitantly pulled away from Anna moving to hold Acnologia's hand. Acnologia stopped at the entrance "Hey…Anna" she looked at him surprised at being addressed, "Trust me, when this is all said and done. The three of us will be happy together again" he replied before moving out and disappearing into the trees.

Anna felt her knees give in as she fell to the floor, sobbing profusely. Hiro had been such an integral part of her life for almost two year's and now she feared just what Acnologia would end up doing to the child. Loke appeared beside her opening his own gate as Anna rested her head on his shoulders. Loke didn't even have the heart to flirt with her as he saw her sobbing profusely, his own thought's were filled with the battle that had taken place earlier.

* * *

Acnologia carried Hiro to a cave where he lit a fire to keep the two of them warm. "Wait…are we staying here…?" Hiro asked him surprised. "That's right I have some fish that you can eat, so eat up and go to sleep" Acnologia ordered. "But…but…"Hiro began to counter when Acnologia glared at him his temper rising, "Hiro to beat these monster's we need to make sure that we get as close as we can to be called Monster's ourselves ?" he replied.

Hiro gulped looking at Acnologia with fear etched in his eyes, "I do not like fear boy…?. Do you see fear in my eyes…?" Acnologia asked him. "No…." he replied. "Exactly...remember Hiro, what was the one rule that I told you to follow always…?" Acnologia demanded.

"It was to obey you no matter what and that no harm would come to us if I did…." Hiro replied. "That's good now be a good boy and go to sleep as I asked you. I promise I will keep you safe" Acnologia replied.

"Tommorow, I take my first step towards exterminating these Dragon's off the face of the earth" Acnologia exclaimed as scales spread across his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Wake up boy…." Acnologia growled as Hiro woke up dazed and staring at the ceiling of the cave, "Anna….always let me sleep a little longer" Hiro groaned trying to go back to sleep. "Do you see Anna over here….?" Acnologia questioned, "No…." Hiro answered innocently. "Then that mean's you don't get to sleep any longer…" he demanded.

Acnologia and Hiro began to trek into the wilderness, "Uncle Ace…." Hiro began when Acnologia interrupted him "Call me Uncle or Acnologia. I only ever let Anna call me Ace….don't make it a habit boy" Acnologia growled at him his gaze piercing, sending chills up Hiro's spine. "I'm sorry Uncle, I was just wondering wether we could stop and eat something before continuing ?" Hiro asked hopefull. "There will be no eating, until we are done training Hiro" Acnologia replied, "But….but I feel hungry" Hiro began to cry.

Acnologia stopped trekking "Hiro….what I'm about to give you is an opportunity far more precious than anything you could ever imagine. I'm not just giving you the chance to save our family, but also to lay claim to my title after me". "Your title….?" Hiro asked curious. "Yes my boy, for you see I have not only amassed the power to eradicate the Dragon's. I am one…." Acnologia finished. "You are….?" Hiro asked amazed, "Well I will be, that day isn't far little one. I can feel it and when that day come's, I will wipe the Dragon's out of existence and be known as the Dragon King. The one Dragon who stood far above the rest, for all ages to come" Acnologia grinned.

He turned towards Hiro "And I want you to succeed me as the Dragon King, that honour my dear nephew, will be your's after me". Hiro scrunched his face "But what about the good Dragon's ?" Hiro asked "Anna said that they were good Dragon's among the monster's,who fought to protect us". "Hiro…" Acnologia bent down looking into his eyes "There are no good Dragon's, all they do is hide their true intention's and await the time, to seize their moment" he stood up beginning to walk again as Hiro ran after him to catch up. "But you and I have seen their destruction haven't we Hiro, you and I…. we know what those monster's can do…" Acnologia looked up into the sky the memory of his village, his family etched into his eyes.

"One single rampage is enough to destroy entire cities and towns, Hiro" Acnologia closed his eyes as tears began to roll down his cheeks,Hiro hesitated a bit before rushing into Acnologia's arm's comforting him. "You see that's all I want Hiro, to avenge our family and to etch, the name of our family into the history books as the greatest clan to have ever lived. When the time come's, I wouldn't hesitate to cross you if that's what I have to do. I would expect you to do the same with me" Acnologia smiled at Hiro "But to do that little one, you will have to grow stronger than me, if not as strong as me".

"With the two of us together no one in our towns, cities, the country, the entire continent would ever have to be afraid of anything. So what do you say Hiro ?" Acnologia asked him. "Our family,Anna, none of them will ever have to fear the Dragon's ever again". Hiro's face grew determined " I will Uncle….for Anna, For my parent's, For Natsu and Zeref and for you" he declared.

"Good, now then Hiro I am not Anna, the way she taught you and the way I'm going to teach you will be completely different. I might seem too harsh at times, but I promise you, it is only to make you that much more efficient at Slaying a Dragon" Acnologia remarked "That said, I want you to climb to the top of those trees and pluck some branches for fire and shelter, I want it done before lunchtime or there will be no lunch for you". Hiro looked like he wanted to say something but when he saw his Uncle's expression, he bit back his retort and obligingly began to make his way to the top of the tree.

Over the days, Acnologia began to train Hiro in physical combat and magic arts as well. He was surprised by how adept Hiro was at learning the technique's, his growth was rapid and he was turning out to be a prodigy.

One day as Hiro was practicing alongside Acnologia, he felt the whole atmosphere change around them as even Acnologia looked to be on guard looking around and up in the sky. "What's wrong Uncle….?" Hiro asked him quickly keeping his guard up as well, like his Uncle had taught him. "I didn't expect them to find us so soon….at this rate I won't be able to complete our training" Acnologia began to mumble, as Hiro looked at him "Uncle…what's that ?" he asked pointing into the sky where a huge figure was flying towards them growing larger by the minute.

The Dragon flew into the clearing as the trees around them crumbled under the pressure, Acnologia stood his ground and to his surprise Hiro stood beside him struggling but boldly facing the Dragon. "My… my Acnologia you are a trouble to find, do you know that ?" The Dragon growled in a deep voice. Acnologia barely flinched, which awed Hiro who was scared and wanted to run away. But his Uncle's presence filled him with confidence as he mustered all the strength and courage that he could, standing beside his Uncle.

Acnologia grinned "Has my aura become that threatening that a Dragon had to come searching for me himself. You shouldn't have bothered yourself, I would have done the favour and come found you instead" he remarked smirking proudly. The Dragon began to laugh which sent chills up Hiro's spine, "Do you know what they call me ?" he asked as Acnologia stared coldly back at him, "They call me Skull-Crusher. Do you know why they call me that boy ?" he demanded. "Let me guess, because you crushed skulls ?" Acnologia asked not impressed, "Yeah at your size crushing human's shouldn't be considered a feat" Acnologia remarked. "I didn't just crush human skulls boy, I crushed Dragon's underneath my claws" he roared.

"Well then, you would imagine the company I kept would certainly be worthy of my affiliation. Imagine my surprise, when I found most of my companions dead when I returned to them" he growled at Acnologia, who cooly responded "They weren't really a challenge". "I'm going to crush you, you puny insect" Skull-Crusher growled.

"You'll try…." Acnologia grinned as the Dragon swiped his claws at him, Acnologia dodged the claw easily toying with the Dragon at will. Hiro looked on in amazement as Acnologia effortlessly dodged the Dragon and managing any offense that he could muster in between. "Is that all you got….?" Acnologia mocked the Dragon as Skull-Crusher began to grin "You're dead now, brat" he growled as he charged a powerful roar straight at Acnologia, who didn't even bother to dodge the blast, while Hiro scrambled behind a boulder to protect himself. The trees were blown to smithereens turning to dust and the ground cracked under the tremendous pressure. Skull-Crusher deciding the bout finished, began to relax as the dust settled. He was shocked to find Acnologia standing in the crater unscathed.

"How…?, What are you….?" the Dragon demanded confused. "What am I ?. A better question would be who am I" Acnologia grinned "I am the Dragon King, that's who I am". Skull-Crusher began to laugh "The Dragon King…..?, you a human ?. I'll give you this much, you've got skill. And to beat someone your size, with your speed. I'll have to come down to your level to deal with you" he said as the Dragon began to shrink in smoke, his figure taking on a human form with red eyes and scars all over his body. He basically had no hair and still the Human/Dragon instilled fear in Hiro's heart, as he looked on at the two of them.

"I like what you've done with your hair" Acnologia remarked, as Skull-Crusher grinned back at him "Battle's don't take kindly to me in this form, but you should be proud. I've barely had a chance to showcase this form's abilities" he said staring calmly at Acnologia. "Well I pity you then, I've had many battle's and have no scar's at all" Acnologia replied. Skull-Crusher growled charging at Acnologia who was amazed at the speed but responded in time as the ground cracked under the pressure of the two of them, the shockwaves obliterating whatever was remaining of the boulder that Hiro was hiding behind.

The two of them traded blows that sounded like canon shots retaliating and blocking and dodging blow after blows. "It look's like we are evenly matched" Skull-Crusher remarked "I could use someone like you, even if you're not a Dragon", Acnologia interrupted him "Who said I'm not a Dragon….?". He grinned as his aura rose the ground crumbled under their feet, the scales growing more prominent on Acnologia's face and arms. "What's this, have you been hiding this all along ?. You're a Dragon Slayer, that explains the abilities" Skull-Crusher exclaimed. "So what element do you use..?" he demanded. "Element….?" Acnologia scoffed "I don't have any element…".

"What….how is that possible…?" Skull-Crusher demanded. "As I said I am the Dragon King, I have no element. You could say, I use the very essence of chaos. Because... I am chaos" Acnologia replied. " A big mistake, telling me that. Knowing one's abilities and power's is like knowing one's weakness" Skull-Crusher grinned at him. "Let's see what you do with that information" Acnologia replied.

The two of them clashed again and even with his risen aura, Skull-Crusher was still able to match Acnologia blow for blow. Acnologia grew enraged as Skull-Crusher smirked at him "Is that all you've got he remarked". Acnologia went back on the offense as Skull-Crusher matched him once again parrying effortlessly. Acnologia's rage grew with every passing moment, he felt his mind getting clouded his vision becoming a haze. "Admit it, we are at a stalemate it's best we leave it at this" Skull-Crusher proposed. "Never…." Acnologia retorted as his hands turned into claws, scales enveloping him almost completely, his eyes grew black as he let out an animalistic roar. "What's this….." Skull-Crusher began but before he could complete his sentence, Acnologia had severed his head from his body as the Dragon transformed back into it's beast form, the head still severed.

Hiro jumped in fear as Acnologia threw the severed head away, he slowly made his way over to his Uncle, "Did we have to kill him…?" he asked. Acnologia began to breathe heavily as his claws began to transform back, his scales disappearing as well. "It's either them or us Hiro. Given the chance, he would have killed the both of us without a second thought" Acnologia replied. "But Uncle, you just beat a Dragon" Hiro exclaimed in amazement. Acnologia looked straight into his brown eye's, "Yes I did….and if you train sincerely you can too" he replied. "Really…." Hiro exclaimed but his face fell suddenly the joy disappearing abruptly. "What's wrong….?" Acnologia asked. "Your hands and face they turned, didn't they ?. It looked like you were becoming a Dragon yourself" Hiro replied.

"I feel it was a mistake leaving you with Anna" Acnologia smiled to himself "Well….. you would have figured it out anyway sooner or later, since you're so smart " he replied smiling sincerely at him. "It's true the more you use Dragon Slaying art's, the more it turn's you into a Dragon, or so I have heard. I feel if I keep going this way, then yes I may probably become a Dragon myself". "Cool…." Hiro exclaimed before his expression turned to one of curiosity " Will I become a Dragon, if I use Dragon Slaying magic ?" Hiro asked. "I am not sure….we'll have to see. We'll deal with it, when the time comes" Acnologia answered. Hiro looked at Acnologia and he had a million other question's he wanted to ask but the look on his Uncle's face said that the conversation was over.

"Well that deal's with food scavenging" Acnologia remarked pointing at the body of the Dragon. "That mean's it's back to training for you" he replied as Hiro groaned. The two of them resumed their training. Hiro's training was intense and Acnologia was relentless in making sure Hiro didn't slack.

* * *

At the magic academy Zeref was found researching forbidden technique's and magical arts. The board of director's warned him on several occasions but he hadn't heeded to their warning's, now the board had made their decision to expel Zeref from the academy for breaching the rules set by them. The chairman of the board approached Zeref, who was busy shuffling through a huge pile of research. "Zeref…" the chairman addressed him, the board behind him. Zeref turned surprised by the sudden audience, "There is no easy way to say this, but the board has decided to expel you from the academy" the chairman stated his voice calm and his expression somber.

Zeref felt his whole world crashing around him "Why….?. I've been an excellent student, I've excelled on my test's. Why are you expelling me ?" Zeref pleaded sad and confused. "My boy…." another member spoke up "You're an Exceptional student, there's no denying that. But the research you've been doing and the magical art's you're trying to dabble with, have been forbidden". "We've tried warning you in the hope that you'd deter from going back and meddling with these art's, but you haven't heeded our warning" the chairman continued. "You've left us no choice Zeref, we respected your parent's and took you into this Academy for their sake and this is how you pay us back ?" he demanded. "From this day forward you are no longer a part of the Mildian Magic Academy. We will give you a day to pack your belongings and leave" they commanded.

Zeref was dumbstruck as the board began to walk away "And….what if I don't want to leave…?" he asked his face furious. "Excuse me….?" The Chairman asked confused " I don't think you heard us correctly we aren't asking you to leave, we demand" he replied. "Make me…." Zeref replied as the wind raged around him, his aura rising uncontrollably, the board struggling to stand their ground. "Zeref…..stop this at once…." they demanded as each of them tried to counter his magic but to no avail."You….don't understand….none of you understand. I can still save him, I know if I had the time. I could find a way to bring him back, why don't you people understand" Zeref screamed out as the roof began to cave in under his immense magical pressure.

The board feared for their life and they collectively called out "God Anksheram help us…." as they cowered waiting for the debris to fall on top of them. Suddenly the wind's stopped and Zeref felt as though he was stuck in time a shadow appeared in front of him, the board falling down on their faces worshipping the deity that had materialized.

Anksheram cleared the debris around them as he turned to face Zeref, who was afraid and felt his aura fade away almost instantly. "Now….was it you who was causing all that commotion ?" Anksheram asked intrigued as Zeref didn't respond. "You could have killed them you know…. ?" Anksheram asked Zeref who just stared blankly back before responding "Well then they shouldn't have interfered, I will do whatever it takes to get my brother back" he declared.

The Chairman slowly lifted his head up addressing Anksheram "God Anksheram, that boy…. is a monster their whole family, their bloodline's must be eliminated, they are a danger to the people around them and to the world" he declared, as Anksheram turned and glared at him shutting him up.

"Well…you seem to have an immense potential, even at such a young age, boy. I wonder….?" Anksheram closed his eyes in deep thought before addressing Zeref again. "Still…. I, God Anksheram cannot let any action go unpunished, though you would make a nice pawn for me" Anksheram grinned as Zeref found himself paralyzed by fear, while black smoke filled his lungs and surrounded him.

Zeref woke a few minutes later his head throbbing and his cheeks hurting as he got up looking at his surroundings but nothing seemed different than before. Anksheram was still standing in front of him as he struggled to look at Anksheram. Anksheram turned to the committee and commanded " Kill the boy…", a few of them looked on their faces ashen from the horror. One of the members ran up from behind Zeref who tried to dodge him, as best as he could but felt the blade pierce his stomach. He choked as blood sprang out from the wound. As the member retrieved his blade, Zeref was surprised to see the wound heal itself, while everyone around him looked on aghast.

Anksheram just grinned, Zeref gathered his research and left. Zeref's friend approached him as he rushed to leave the Academy. " Hey Zeref, where are you going…?" he called out, Zeref didn't wait for him, he could feel his energy swirling, his emotions raging inside him. His energy swirled around him as the plants around him withered away dying, a squirrel dropped dead from one of the trees as his friend stopped to check on the animal. "Zeref, what's going on….?" he asked concerned, Zeref started to back away from him mortified, his black aura still spreading around him "No….stay away, I don't understand why this is happening" Zeref cried as his friend approached him, his hands outstretched "Hey….it's going to be alright buddy" he said placing a hand around his shoulders.

Zeref suddenly felt the hands around him go limp as his friend dropped to the ground, his body lifeless. He let out an unearthly scream as he called out for help. People began to gather, trying to help them. To his horror each of them fell to the ground lifeless, until there was no one left. Zeref felt like he was sitting there among the bodies for age's, when Anksheram approached him. "What's going on what have you done to me….?" Zeref demanded. "You will address me as God Anksheram. I am not your friend, boy" Anksheram stated. "What happened to them….?" Zeref asked heart broken. "They're dead…" Anksheram simply replied. "Why….why would you do this to them…?" Zeref asked. "Oh…no, you did this to them…" Anskheram answered "You see….since you value your brother's life so much. I thought it would be fitting to punish you this way, the more you value life, the more life you will destroy, except your own ofcourse. I've given you immortality".

"You've made me immortal…?. But why….?" Zeref asked livid and confused. "Oh…you might think making you immortal was a gift, but you've also been gifted with the Curse of Contradiction" Anksheram began to laugh. "Why are you doing this….?" Zeref pleaded with him. "Why….?. So that the people know that Anksheram is a just God. And to make sure no other mortal, ever tries to attempt the thing's you have" he answered.

Zeref growled charging at him as his aura blazing once again, but Anksheram simply caught him. "You might be immortal boy, but I am a God" he stated, throwing Zeref unceremoniously to the side. "When the time is right, I will be back for you" Anksheram stated before vanishing away.

Zeref stayed on the ground dejected, when some of the professors from the Academy began to walk towards him. Upon seeing the bodies, one of the Professor's demanded"Zeref….what have you done….?". "That boy has been meddling with the Dark art's since the beginning, we need to hand him over to the law and let him face his comeuppance" stated another Professor. "Zeref, please tell us what happened….here ?" a third questioned him, as they approached him hesitantly.

"No get away from me…..I'm a monster" Zeref screamed as he ran away from them, the third Professor was about to run after him, when the other two held him back. "Look at the plants and the bird's" they said pointing out to the dead plants and animals that lay on the path Zeref had just run in. "For now…it's best we stay out of his path, until we figure out how to deal with him" the other responded.

Zeref ran until he was sure he was far away from people, tired he lay down looking up into the sky, the feeling of loss and pain filling his heart and mind once again. Once again the curse took it's affect as the trees withered away and any thing alive around him fell dead. Zeref was tired , he didn't want to run anymore _"Atleast, I can't hurt what's already dead. I can make this my home and stay here"_ Zeref thought _"Forever….?", _the question arose in his head.

Zeref didn't know how long he was laying there in the mud, his clothes were all stained with mud, and his face was murky. _"Perhap's it had been day's, week's since it happened"_ Zeref didn't know, he no longer felt hungry he didn't even need to sleep. All he had done was sit and ponder about ways to break the Curse or think about way's to destroy an immortal. As he sat there under a tree thinking, he realized that there was still Natsu. Who was depending on Zeref to save him, to give him a new life, a new beginning.

Zeref made his way to the place where he had preserved Natsu's body, so focused was he on getting to his brother that his curse hadn't affected anything on the way. As he stood there staring at his brother he realized, as long as he had a goal to focus on, his emotion's and his curse wouldn't run wild.

And right now, he only had one goal in his life, to save his brother and to make sure that Natsu would bring an end to his own cursed life. To make sure, that Natsu would be the END of him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Zeref absorbed himself, into his research that he had salvaged from the Academy. He struggled looking into every form of black art or technique that could be useful in bringing back his brother. Everytime Zeref looked at his brother his heart ached and each time, his heart broke, he felt like he would throw up. With his Curse of Contradiction now, even if…he did manage to save Natsu, any small hint of affection or emotion from him towards his little brother, would end up killing his brother again.

It had taken Zeref five years and many failed experiments, with each failed attempt Zeref became more and more impatient and felt himself getting more and more distant from the world. His will to bring his brother back to life the only thing pushing him forward. If it weren't for Natsu, Zeref thought he would probably have retreated to a remote cave and stayed there for all eternity, that way his curse would atleast be shackled.

But now after five long years of struggling and trying over and over again, he had finally succeeded Natsu was alive, Zeref felt elated but he reigned in his feelings. Over the years, Zeref had learned to control his emotions. To him Natsu was just an objective and now that the objective was complete, Zeref didn't know what to do. Natsu looked around his surroundings at all the equipment in awe and wonder, he then turned to look at Zeref his eyes filling with confusion as he scrunched his eyebrows looking at him perplexed "Who are you….?" he asked Zeref innocently.

Zeref felt his whole world crashing around him as he felt his knees buckle, Natsu helped him up. _"It worked he is alive, but he has no memory of who he is, who I am….or who anyone is" _Zeref felt like he could cry but he couldn't let him emotions take control of him, not now. _"This could be good after all, he doesn't need to know who I am and he can have a fresh start all over again" he thought, turning _to Natsu facing him "I am Zeref, do you know who you are….?" he asked him. As Natsu shook his head "No" in response. "Well you will soon, until then go to sleep" Zeref replied as he let his magic seep into Natsu, who fell asleep.

Zeref found himself once again on the doorstep of Anna's house. He knocked on the door as Anna answered the door surprised to find Zeref at the door holding a sleeping Natsu. Anna was horrified at sensing the dark aura emanating from Zeref she moved away from him, a little apprehensive of him. "Zeref, what happened to you….?" she asked him concerned. "Oh….please Anna, the professor's and the others must have made sure by now that the whole country heard about what I did..." Zeref answered nonchalantly. "I didn't want to believe it…." Anna replied "But….why did you do it Zeref…?" she pleaded with him. Zeref felt his anger growing stronger as he calmed himself for the sake of the two people in the room. "You think….i wanted it Anna…?" he asked "I have been cursed for all eternity. Do you think that's something that I would willingly wish for…?" he asked her in a condescending tone. Anna was shocked "What…but…who….why…?" was all she could manage as Zeref continued "Have you heard of Anksheram…?" he asked. "Yes….i mean I always thought Anksheram was a myth. But even if it were true, why would a God…curse you….?" Anna asked flabbergasted. "Because of him, Natsu Dragneel" he said motioning to the child sleeping in his arms.

"But….you said your family was…." Anna paused as the realization dawned on her "Zeref….you didn't…." she demanded. He didn't agree nor did he deny it "I apparently meddled with forbidden art's and invented techniques which displeased the God's, according to Anksheram" Zeref growled, Anna thought she saw a glint in his eyes, for a second as he continued "I can still see their faces, most of them didn't even realize what had happened to them". "Zeref…." Anna tried to place a comforting hand on him as he moved away. "Anna….i can't stay here, when he wakes up. I can't take that risk, please don't punish him for my sins" Zeref pleaded "Doesn't he deserve to grow up and have a life, just like Hiro…." Zeref stopped abruptly as he realized his brother was nowhere around, he turned around looking for Hiro.

"He isn't here Zeref" Anna answered "Ace came back to take him.…." Anna answered as Zeref smirked, what Anna thought was a sad smirk. His expression turned neutral as he shook his head "Well, there's nowhere else, he would be safer". "Is it true about Acnologia though….?" Anna asked, fearing Zeref's response. "As far as I've heard, it is" Zeref said as Anna's face grew pale "He has full grown Dragon's shaking with fear, I am intrigued and amazed at the same time". "Then he has been…." Anna began as Zeref cut her off "Anna…I don't have a lot of time here, each day my curse grows stronger and I need to find better arrangement's for Natsu…." Saying this Zeref began to leave. "Zeref….wait…I'll take care of Natsu" Anna replied, Zeref tried as best as he could to show Anna how grateful he was for this, without letting his Curse take affect. He cursed Anksheram, as Anna came forward to look at the child "Is he asleep ?" she asked. "He's under a spell, I'll remove it after I leave. So he doesn't have question's about me" Zeref answered. "Well don't you want to say goodbye to your brother ?, before you leave" she asked surprised . "Anna….with this curse, I cannot afford the luxury of having a brother or a family. What's more important to me is that he survives and maybe have a better life, than what the rest of my family had" Zeref replied.

"But, what if he asks for you or about you….?" Anna asked desperation evident in her voice. "You need not worry about that Anna. You see, he has no memories of a family or of his previous life, however short that was. From this point forward he will remember and know only of the thing's that you teach him or tell him" Zeref answered. Anna didn't say anything as she took Natsu in her arms. "Anna, one more thing, make sure no harm comes to him. Curse or no curse if anything happens to him, you will feel my wrath" saying this Zeref left the house teleporting himself away. As Anna stood near the threshold looking at Zeref, those last word's that he told her filling her with fear, while her heart filled with sadness and pain at Zeref's plight.

* * *

Hiro….stood in a clearing the trees all around him blowing in the wind, his eyes closed, his senses tingling picking up any smell in the air, any sound around him. As he stood there concentrating, he heard a rustle as he sniffed someone getting closer to him. He opened his eyes just in time to see a claw moving towards his chest as he dodged it, to his best ability. But he still ended up getting clawed, "You're getting faster, your sense's are heightened to the point, where you almost sensed me coming" Acnologia exclaimed laughing proudly.

"I still couldn't dodge you though" Hiro sighed as he looked around for a herb to apply on the wound. "That scar will be a good addition, to the rest …." Acnologia grinned as Hiro groaned "At this rate ill be covered with scar's all over my body. I am going to end up looking like Skull-Crusher" he exclaimed. "No, you won't…." Acnologia stated as Hiro stared at him confused and shocked at the same time "You really think that…?" Hiro asked hopefully. "You'll still have your hair…." Acnologia replied roaring with laughter as Hiro exclaimed "Ha…ha, very funny Uncle. Can't you go easier on me?. I have improved a lot…." Hiro said looking expectantly at Acnologia. "Tell that to the next Dragon, you face" Acnologia stated as Hiro's smile faded away instantly. "Alright, you have been improving incredibly well, let's take a break for now and have lunch, we can resume our training after" Acnologia said looking at his dejected face.

It had been 5 years since Hiro and Acnologia had begun their training. Hiro had grown accustomed to the rigorous training and to their nomadic lifestyle, the time that he had spent at Anna's house was like a long forgotten dream. Sometime's he wondered how his life would be, had he stayed back with Anna. Though, Hiro could never understand nor agree with Acnologia on some things, he was still the only family Hiro had left. Hiro was used to having Acnologia leave for a few days and return with plenty of meat for food. Hiro knew it was Dragon meat, but he would shut his mouth and eat without grumbling about it. He knew better than to annoy his Uncle, especially when his Uncle was hungry.

Though over the last few years Hiro noticed Acnologia had begun to look sick, the scales that usually appeared when he used Dragon Slaying Magic, were now prominent under his eyes and he walked with his back a little hunched like he had the weight of the whole world, on his shoulders. Though he was just as strong and didn't show any sort of weakness during their training especially during combat, it still worried Hiro. He made sure Acnologia would eat a larger share of the meal even if he tried to deny it, he also made sure Acnologia had ample amount of rest before they ever began training. Hiro hoped that Acnologia would become better, he had no idea about healing spells or anything to do with healing or recovery to try to help his Uncle out better, perhaps he could ask Anna a few healing spells, if they ever met again.

The next day as Hiro woke up, he found Acnologia still as a rock. His heart began to pound as he felt himself sweating he began to shake Acnologia, tears falling down his cheeks he called out shaking his Uncle vigorously, who woke up glaring furiously at him. "What's wrong with you boy…?" he demanded. "You weren't moving and I thought….that something was wrong…." Hiro muttered looking straight at him, trying to keep a bold face, though there were tear tracks running down his cheeks. Hiro didn't know how convincing his look was. "You should have just tried to use your Dragon Senses to find a pulse, if that was the case" Acnologia remarked as Hiro looked down at the ground embarrassed.

"I'm sorry Uncle…." Hiro apologized as Acnologia held his hand up silencing him, he abruptly turned towards the entrance, "Do you sense that Hiro….?" Acnologia asked him. Hiro remembered his training, he tried using his Dragon Senses to figure out what his Uncle was talking about. When he felt it, the presence was faint but the magical aura that Hiro was sensing was huge.

Hiro and Acnologia made their way through the forest when they came into a clearing, the trees lay crushed all around them, the ground lay cracked, as they made their way further through the forest Acnologia finally stopped as Hiro came face to face with a hulking head of a Dragon.

"Ah….the Dragon Killer I was wondering when you'd show up. A free kill for you to have…. and you wouldn't show up ?. Now that would have been a disappointing way for me to go…." the Dragon mocked Acnologia. Hiro could sense the aura emanating from the Dragon but it seemed like his Uncle wasn't even phased by it. "What is your name Dragon….?" Acnologia demanded. "I ain't no warrior worthy to be known by his name. O great, Dragon Slayer" the Dragon responded. "Suit yourself, Dragon" Acnologia replied " Hiro….I'll let you handle this one…." he said walking away. As Hiro panicked "Uncle….but…I am not strong enough…yet" he pleaded. "You won't be Hiro, not until you try" Acnologia replied "Don't you worry though, I'll be right here if he tries anything" he said reassuring Hiro.

Hiro gulped as Acnologia moved into the shade while the huge Dragon turned its attention to Hiro. "I am sorry…." Hiro mumbled as he looked at the Dragon, whose eyes began to droop as he looked back at the child wearily. "Don't fool yourself child, there's no place for remorse in such a situation. I am facing my comeuppance for everything that I have done" the Dragon's voice boomed "My only consolation, is that I receive my comeuppance from you. A child that has suffered the consequences of the actions of my siblings and I". The Dragon turned to show his side to Hiro. To Hiro's horror it had a huge hole in it.

"If it were your Uncle, I probably wouldn't have laid down quietly. I would fight back, even in my condition" the Dragon laughed. Hiro was speechless, " I do have one request kid…." the Dragon said "Don't make it too swift…." he laughed maniacally as Hiro saw a weird glint in his eye that sent chills up his spine. "That's enough of playing around Hiro…..do it now" Acnologia demanded. Hiro moved back his aura rising as he clenched his hands together, "Chaos Dragon Execution Blades" he screamed slicing down the Dragon's throat. Hiro stood there amazed and disgusted at the same time at what he had done.

"A clean kill, I'm impressed you did a clean blow in one try" Acnologia joked as Hiro looked at him aghast, "I just killed a living being, Uncle…how can you joke about it….?" he asked tears forming across his eyes. Acnologia's smile vanished as his face grew grim and serious "Well….get used to it then, they maybe living beings Hiro, but they are monsters. Make no mistake you show the same weakness, as you did today and the next time it won't be you walking away. I don't remember how many times I have said this to you and why do i have to repeat it to you again and again" he growled at him. Looking at Hiro's face, Acnologia felt bad as he continued "Hiro...I joked, because I didn't want you to feel burdened by all this, as you can see I'm not as great at this as Anna was. But everything that I'm showing you, everything that I make you do….is only to make you stronger for the day's to come ahead. One fine day, you may actually end up getting stronger than me and nothing would make me more proud. One day….perhaps" he said as Hiro wiped the tears away.

"I am leaving Hiro…." Acnologia said suddenly as Hiro didn't find anything strange with it, Acnologia continued "This time…..i maybe gone for a really long time, I may… not return" he said as Hiro looked at his Uncle shocked "Uncle….why….?. How am I going to stay all alone ?, where do I go…?" he fired question after question at his Uncle. "As you can see, my health isn't really good and if what I heard about using these art's and its side effects are, then it's better you're not around me when it happens. As for where you could go, if thing's get real bad for you, go back to Anna…." Acnologia replied.

"What if the same thing that's happening to you, happen's to me….?" Hiro asked desperation evident in his voice. "When that time come's son, you will do the same thing I have…." Acnologia answered. Hiro just hugged his Uncle tightly sobbing a little as Acnologia returned the embrace. "Hiro….i'm leaving tonight. But I do want you to know this, I am proud of you and you are far stronger than you could ever imagine, just trust in yourself and you can overcome anything. I will find a solution to this condition of mine and be back stronger than ever before"Acnologia said beaming proudly at him, _"Atleast, I hope" _he thought to himself as Hiro just managed to nod his head. His emotion's taking over him as he sobbed profusely Acnologia just holding him close, consoling him.

* * *

**One Year Later**

Zeref was walking through the forest one day completely confused on what to do next. Now that he had managed to save his brother, he had no idea on what to do next and he had all eternity to think about it. As he began to walk, his curse affecting the surroundings around him. Zeref felt the presence of Dragons around him and to his amazement he heard the voices of children. But what caught his attention was a certain aura that Zeref could never forget.

Zeref hurried in the direction of the aura, as two hulking Dragon's stepped forward blocking his path. "What work…..do you have here, boy ?. Don't you know, us Dragons eat kids like you" One of the Dragons growled at him . Do you want us to eat you boy….?" the Dragon growled at Zeref, who smirked "You can try…." he scoffed. As the other Dragon stepped forward "See….i told you, you don't come off as intimidating, Weisslogia" the other Dragon roared laughing. "Let's see you try….then Illyeria" Weisslogia retorted.

As the two Dragon''s began to argue Zeref walked into the clearing completely oblivious to them, when another Dragon stepped forward "If you two would stop squabbling, you would notice that the intruder has slipped past you" growled a huge black Dragon. "I am not an intruder, I am a friend" Zeref stated grinning. "Your…aura doesn't scream friend, boy" the Dragon growled back.

"Step aside Metalicana….." came a deep voice from behind Metalicana as a flaming red Dragon stepped forward. "Igneel….it's good to see you…." Zeref said his face emotionless. "You don't seem to happy to see me old friend ?" Igneel asked. "I cannot afford the weakness of emotions" Zeref answered. "So the rumor's are true then…..?" Igneel asked concerned. "As true as it can be" Zeref said touching a tree as it withered in front of them. Metalicana froze, "So….you're the Black Mage. How do you two know each other…?" he asked. "It's a long story, but I've known him since before he became the Black Mage" Igneel answered.

"The Black Mage….?" Illyeria shouted excited rushing forward her wings tearing down a few trees as Igneel reprimanded her. "Well…you're the Black Mage, I've heard so much about you…." she gushed over him. "Ummm….his curse ended up killing people…." Weisslogia uttered baffled. "And he's just a kid" she retorted back to Weisslogia, "You must be so strong and brave, to have endured all that pain…." she turned addressing Zeref again.

"So….what bring's you all the way here….Zeref…?" Igneel asked interjecting. "I need a favour Igneel….a big one…" he said. Igneel kept quiet listening to Zeref as he continued "I see….you've taken up a bunch of young children under your wings huh ?" he asked. "They were orphans, they wouldn't survive a day out there alone" Skiadrum replied. "You have heard what happens to those humans who make use of Dragon Slaying Magic, haven't you….?" Zeref asked. "Don't patronize us boy…..we will deal with that when the time comes" Metalicana growled. "I need you to take one more, Igneel" Zeref said looking at the Fire Dragon King straight in his face.

"And I suppose you want us to teach him Dragon Slaying arts too….?" Igneel asked. "Not just any of you. I need you...Igneel. To teach him, Fire Dragon Slaying arts, make him your successor" Zeref replied. The other Dragon's apart from Grandeeny and Illyeria began to scoff and laugh. "Why is this….person so important to you Zeref….?. And why is it, that you want me, to take him under my wing….?" Igneel asked his eyes blazing, glaring into Zeref's. Zeref smirked "He's Natsu Dragneel, my brother, as to why he's important ?. He'll be the one to take down Acnologia" Zeref replied.

Everyone stood still as Igneel scowled "You're saying a kid, will take down the Choas Dragon Slayer ?" he asked "Well, why do you need us then….?" Weisslogia asked. "Have you heard of the Etherious…?" Zeref retorted. Igneel's face grew furious "Zeref, tell me you haven't been meddling with Ethernano particles…?" he demanded. Zeref just grinned "I didn't just meddle with it, I created a perfect remedy, I created a pack of soldiers and right on top of the pack, stands my brother a half Etherious and half Human hybrid, a perfect balance". "You're saying the boy is part Etherious….?" Illyeria gasped excited. "You don't have to get excited for everything" Skiadrum retorted.

"You're willing to gamble, on your brother's life…?" Grandeeny asked aghast. "I don't have any family anymore. I hope you can be one, for my brother. As for me I have a few goals and if this is what it takes to get there then so be it" Zeref replied. "But if he's an Etherious, whose to say you won't turn him on us…?" Metalicana demanded. "He isn't just a toy, for me to control. He's alive, he makes his own choices and decisions. And if I really wanted to kill you…?. I would have already done it" Zeref replied. "Alright that's it…" Igneel raised his voice silencing everyone. "The boy, will be my responsibility, no one else need's to interfere or risk their lives, if that's…. how you feel" Igneel said as all the Dragon's kept quiet.

Zeref smiled as he left to give Anna the news, she wouldn't be happy about this. But atleast she didn't spend as much time with Natsu, as she did with Hiro. _"Natsu….soon, we will be together you and I. I will make everything right, brother. I wont stop until it is…." _Zeref thought as he hurried to Anna's place.

* * *

AN : Hey everyone thanks for the Favorite's and Follow's. If you do like this story, do leave a review, i would appreciate it...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Zeref teleported himself back to Anna's place. Anna had already sensed Zeref's presence as she slammed the door open, glaring at Zeref "What…now…?" she demanded furiously. "I'm here for Natsu" Zeref answered. "Alright….what is, with you Dragneel Men…?. Do you think this is some sort of joke or something ?. Every single year, you drop a kid at my place and then randomly appear to take them back. Do you think I'm running a nursery or something ?. Why bother, leaving the kids here in the first place" she screamed in frustration.

Zeref calmy responded "It doesn't matter, I'm here now and I'm taking Natsu" he turned to Natsu who was looking at the two of them with wide eyes "Come on now, Natsu" Zeref said motioning Natsu to join him. As Anna stepped between the two of them "Not this time…" she declared as Zeref stared at her dumbstruck. "I'm going with you…." Anna answered Zeref's questioning look. "You weren't part of the deal Anna, I don't think Igneel and the others would take kindly to that" Zeref replied.

"You mean the Fire Dragon King Igneel…?"Anna exclaimed "How…and what sort of deal did you make with him, that involves Natsu…?" she asked. "It doesn't matter…Anna" Zerefs voice rose as Natsu hid behind her afraid of Zeref. Looking at his brother cowering away from him Zeref tried to calm his anger "Anna…please you do know about my curse, every second my curse grows stronger and I put the two of you in more danger" Zeref pleaded. " Well you better get to it then, because we aren't going anywhere…yet" Anna replied. "Anna…." Zeref grumbled as his aura spread as he struggled to control it again. "Do you want to go with Zeref, Natsu…?" she asked Natsu, who shook his head "No" in response.

"Alright fine…" Zeref gave in "Igneel is going to teach him Dragon Slaying Arts", Anna's eyes grew wide in shock to the revelation "But…why…?". "Because, his Etherious abilities combined with the Dragon Slaying magic, will make him the most efficient weapon against Acnologia". "So you're going to kill him then…?" she asked afraid of the answer. "Not if we can avoid it. But I hope, you're atleast not against subduing him…?" Zeref questioned. Anna just shook her head in response as Zeref called out to Natsu, who looked at Anna, when Anna didn't respond Natsu just hid behind her again.

Anna held Natsu's hand and guided him to Zeref, when Natsu looked at her with fear etched on his face. She held his hand reassuring him "It's okay he's going to take you…" Anna began as Zeref interrupted her "To your Father…." he said, his face still serious. Anna looked at Zeref confused, while Natsu had the biggest smile on his face "My Father, you know where my Dad is…?. Where is he…?. What is his name…?" Natsu started firing question after question at Zeref. Anna stepped in trying to calm Natsu "Natsu, dear you heard Zeref, how about you ask your Dad those questions yourself…?" she said as Natsu grinned replying with an enthusiastic "Okay…".

As Natsu and Zeref began to make their way out of the house, Anna followed them. Zeref turned to look at her "And what do you think you're doing…?" Zeref asked her. "Don't you think Igneel would need help taking care of Natsu ?" she questioned him back. "Alright, you know what we've wasted enough of time, lets go…" Zeref demanded as he teleported all three of them into a huge clearing. As Natsu and Anna became accustomed to the after affects of the teleportation, they could see huge towering figures walking over to them. Anna felt chills spread up her spine as she felt the huge magical presence in the area.

"Took you long enough…Zeref" came a deep voice as Natsu searched for the owner of the said voice. "Look up Natsu" Igneel said as Natsu looked up to see a flaming red Dragon grinning at him, to everyone's surprise Natsu began to jump and embraced Igneel "My Dad's a Dragon….." Natsu declared proudly. "Dad…?" Igneel asked looking at Natsu "How dare you…?" his voice boomed as Natsu started to backtrack back to Anna. When Igneel's frown turned to a grin as he began to laugh "If you have to….then call me Father or Igneel, you brat…." he said grinning as Natsu relaxed. "Hey guys come and meet Natsu" Igneel called out to the others as the remaining Dragons came forward to meet Natsu. Natsu stared at the Dragons in awe.

"Alright it's time I left…" Zeref said preparing to teleport away when Igneel stopped him "What about her….?" Igneel asked. "Not my problem, she doesn't want to leave Natsu's side, now she's your problem" Zeref replied. Igneel glared at Zeref and truth be told even Zeref felt fear creep into him, even though he was immortal. Anna interjected bowing respectfully to Igneel "Your Majesty Fire Dragon King Igneel…" she began as the other Dragons around her began to laugh while Igneel chuckled at her. Our titles do hold prestige and it certainly dictates the power we possess, but we do not have any custom to follow…" Igneel replied as Anna flushed red.

"I'm sorry…." Anna paused. "Igneel, you can call me Igneel" the Fire Dragon responded. "Igneel…" Anna continued " You see Natsu is just a child and as a Dragon yourself, you might find it difficult in bringing up a human child. I would in no way be interjecting at all. You could think of me as someone who is only here to assist you whenever needed. I am adept at healing spells though…" Anna said looking at Igneel hopefully. "I am good at healing magic too, Sky healing magic to be precise" Grandeeny replied laughing gently, as Anna's face fell. Illyeria began to smile as she ushered Natsu and Anna into the clearing with her paw. "What are you doing…?" Anna questioned dumbstruck. "It's okay we all know Igneel very well. He has already made his decision" she said as Igneel stared at all the Dragons walking away. "Woah…hey Illyeria, I never said anything" he groaned. Is this what you wanted Zeref…?" he asked turning to address Zeref, who had already teleported away. Igneel shook his head in frustration as he went to rejoin the group.

* * *

Hiro…walked through the forest scavenging for food, it had been a year since Acnologia had left him and he was starting to get used to living alone, his Dragon Sense had grown really strong, his Dragon Roar was growing stronger by the day, he had fended off wild animals effortlessly. The only thing Hiro felt he needed to do was face an actual Dragon. He hadn't really fought one, the way Acnologia had. Without a sparring partner all Hiro could do was estimate his strength himself, he wished Acnologia would return but he also knew about the fate Acnologia was destined for. It was quiet possible the next time Hiro met Acnologia, Hiro would have to face and probably put down Acnologia. If… he could that is. Hiro had grown tired of staying close to the cave and slowly started going deeper and deeper into the forest. Overtime he had strayed so far away from the cave, that he couldn't figure his way back. So he decided he would rather search for his Uncle, than try to find his way back to the cave.

One such day as he was walking through a forest, he picked up on a familiar scent _"No…it can't be" _he wondered. Hiro rushed, trusting his Dragon Senses and following the scent. To his surprise he found that his Senses had picked up on the scent from quiet a long distance away, Hiro grinned proudly to himself as he felt the scent drawing closer.

As Hiro drew closer to the scent he could make out the silhouette of a person. As he tried to get closer, Hiro found his path blocked by a huge figure. He looked up to find a huge Red Dragon glaring down at him. "What are you doing here child…?" Igneel demanded. Hiro felt his voice give out as he found he couldn't utter a word. Of all the Dragons he had faced alongside Acnologia, Hiro had never found a Dragon that had emitted such a powerful aura. It was taking everything Hiro had for him to stand upto the Dragon.

"Where's Anna….?" Hiro demanded glaring at the Dragon. "Anna….what work do you have with her boy..?" Igneel demanded. "I swear….Dragon, if you've hurt her in any….way" Hiro declared as his aura started to rise, a purple aura forming across his hands. "You're a Dragon Slayer…are you boy…?" Igneel asked intrigued. "Yes…and I'll use those techniques to make an example of you. Now where is Anna…?" Hiro demanded. "Well go ahead, show me your techniques…" Igneel retorted grinning widely. A White Dragon stepped forward "Igneel…he's just a boy, just like the other kids. What are you doing…?" Grandeeny questioned. "Can't you feel the aura the boy is emmitting, there is something strange about the kid and frankly I want to see what the kid is capable of…" Igneel replied.

"Whats wrong boy…weren't you going to show me this Dragon Slaying techniques" Igneel asked grinning. Hiro steeled his nerves as he charged a Dragons Roar in response "Choas Dragon Roar" he screamed as Igneel simply stepped through the Roar effortlessly, but his expression had changed. "Where did you learn that boy….?" Igneel growled at him, every ounce of courage that Hiro had was sapped away as Igneel's aura changed along with his expression. "My…my Uncle thought me…" Hiro Stuttered. "You're the spawn of the Chaos Dragon…?" Igneel demanded as Hiro stepped back fear creeping into him like he had never felt before. The earth under Igneels feet shattered as he dug his claws into the ground to hold himself back, Metallicana and Skiadrum blocked Igneel too trying to hold him back.

"A Choas Dragon Slayer….?" Illyeria exclaimed excitedly as she rushed forward, "Would you try not to sound so excited at that….?" Weisslogia asked as he guarded the kids. Hiro started to back away as the Dragons argued amongst each other.

Among all the commotion Anna stepped forward, when Hiro saw Anna he rushed to her hugging her tight "Anna….you're alright" Hiro exclaimed happily. Anna smiled back sweetly at him "Ofcourse Hiro, I never stopped worrying about you though" she said smiling as she held him close, when suddenly it struck her "Is…Ace…here ?" she asked worry etched on her face. "No…I haven't seen Uncle in over a year" Hiro replied. "Why…?" Anna asked her relief turning into worry, no matter how much she tried she couldn't deny that she still cared about Acnologia. No matter how horrible he had become, she still hoped there was some part of him that was still good.

"He…he was talking about how using Dragon Slaying magic was eventually going to turn him into a Dragon, he had scales covering him and his health wasn't good, though it didn't affect his strength or power in any way" Hiro replied. "So the rumours are true…?. Dragon Slaying magic turns the Dragon Slayers into Dragons…?" Metallicana asked. "Why are we still teaching the kids Dragon Slaying arts then…?. Igneel…?" Skiadrum growled at him. "Would you calm down I'm still working on it…" Igneel replied calmly, as the others glared at him. Anna dragged Hiro away,as the other Dragons converged on Igneel, still furious about the recent information.

Once she was sure there were considerably far away from the Dragons she turned towards Hiro smiling at him "You've grown so much, you're almost as tall as me" Anna said smiling at him. Hiro just blushed "Well Acnologia never let me off the hook easily, it kinda made me miss you a lot Anna. At times I even considered returning back to you. But then, just the thought of how furious Acnologia would get at me made me chage my mind instantly" he chuckled nervously. Anna just pulled him close and hugged him tight as Hiro sniffed giving into the embrace.

A bright light blinded the two of them as Loke appeared. A grin appeared on Hiro's face when he noticed Loke, "Yo….Uncle Loke" he began to snicker, as Loke glared at him. "How many times do I tell you…Hiro, I am…not…your Uncle" he declared glaring daggers at the kid. "Loke…he's just a kid…" Anna reprimanded him, "He's a monster…." Loke replied reacting over-dramatically. "Well…why did you come here Loke…?" Anna asked exhausted. "Well I wanted to know if Hiro had met him yet…?" Loke replied. "If I had met whom…yet ?" Hiro questioned in return. "Your brother obviously…" Loke replied, as Anna shook her head trying to signal Loke to shut his mouth. "Zeref is here…?" Hiro asked surprised, Loke completely oblivious to Anna's desperate signals replied "No, your other brother….Natsu".

Hiro stood still letting the news sink in, then his face lit up "Natsu's here…?" he asked Anna, when Loke replied in her stead "Well yes and…" he was cut off as Anna force closed his gate. Hiro looked at Anna curiously "Why didn't you tell me Natsu was there, why didn't you let me meet him, what's going on…?" he demanded. "Your brother is fine Hiro…" Anna replied as Hiro relaxed considerably "It's just that… he's lost his memory after the Dragon's attacked your village…".

"Why don't you just tell him the truth Anna…." a voice rang out through the forest as Zeref casually walked into their sight "I'll take it from here….Anna" Zeref replied bluntly as Anna looked at the two brothers staring at each other. Hiro just smiled at her as Anna left the two of them alone without another word.

"You don't really seem that pleased to see me brother…" Zeref said smiling cheekily at Hiro. "After everythig you've done, you'd think I'd be happy to see you…?" Hiro demanded. "My…my the rumours have reached as far as the Dragon King's apprentice's ears as well huh….?" Zeref asked. "It doesn't have to travel that far I do pick up on a lot of thing's with my Dragon senses…." Hiro replied. "And you just believe in whatever you hear…?" Zeref retorted. "I went to the place Zeref, the forest that you destroyed. There's no hint of life left, not in the plants, not in the soil, not anywhere…." Hiro growled. "Well I guess there's no hiding anything from you Chaos Dragon Slayer…" Zeref grinned holding a branch up, showing Hiro exactly how his curse took affect, as it withered out completely crumbling away in his hands. Hiro stepped back afraid "Why….?" was all he could manage to say.

"Why…?" Zeref laughed "You act like you know what ive been through. Is this what you do assume someone's guilt or innocence ?" he demanded. "How is anything that you've done innocent…?" Hiro retorted. Zeref's smile disappeared as he glared at Hiro "This is the price I had to pay, to save the life of your brother…". "He's your brother too…" Hiro retorted. "Not anymore…." Zeref replied "The Natsu I knew died along with our parents. I couldn't afford to lose Natsu too, I had to find a way to save him and protect him. And I paid for it with this curse". Hiro's world came crashing around him "Mom…and Dad…they're dead….?" he began to breakdown as tears spilled down his cheeks "Did….did you atleast bury them…?" Hiro asked him his eyes almost bloodshot from crying already. "No…the whole village was burnt down to ashes by the time I could go back and search for them…." Zeref replied. "How…did you find Natsu then….?" Hiro asked.

"I didn't….." Zeref said as Hiro looked at him confused. "Queen Irene…did" Zeref replied. "Queen Irene…?. They say she was one of the first ones to learn Dragon Slaying arts…is it true…?" Hiro asked him. "Some say her and Acnologia were the first ones to learn Dragon Slaying arts but no one knows for sure" Zeref replied. "Well go on then tell me how she saved Natsu….?" Hiro asked excitedly. "I did not sign up for story time Hiro…" Zeref replied. "Please Zeref, this is the last thing I'll ever ask please…" Hiro pleaded. "Fine, Queen Irene and a few allied Dragons had rushed to our village when they heard the news about the attack. Queen Irene rode on a Dragon herself, Belserion she called him. Together they drove away the rogue Dragons but one couldn't escape and that was the Dragon that had saved Natsu as a bargain chip for freedom" Zeref looked at Hiro who was listening to his story intently "Anyway, the Dragon pleaded for mercy and even returned Natsu, what Irene hadn't realised was that it was just Natsu's body and he was already dead. Furious upon learning this, she commanded Belserion to execute the Dragon ruthlessly. It was then, that I approached Queen Irene and brought Natsu back with me." Zeref finished his story as Hiro looked on in astonishment at him.

Hiro moved forward to hug Zeref when Zeref moved away "Stop…don't come near me please…." Zeref pleaded "You saw what I did to the forest and you heard what happened at the Academy. I've been cursed by God Anksheram Hiro, a curse of contradiction" . "Contradiction…?" Hiro asked. "The more I care for a person the more likely theyre going to die" Zeref replied. "Well how am I still standing then….? Hiro asked him. "Bold of you to assume I still care about you…." Zeref replied.

"We'll find a way to break this curse Zeref…"Hiro said, Zeref shook his head "No you won't, this curse is my burden not your's, not Natsu's". "But…." Hiro began, Zeref interrupted him "Listen to me Hiro. No matter what happens to me, there is something much more important here and that is putting an end to Acnologia's reign of terror".

Hiro's expression changed as he glared at Zeref "What are you talking about…?, your talking about killing our only blood relative, he's our Uncle….Zeref" Hiro growled at him. "You're going to defend him, after everything that he's done….?" Zeref growled back at him. "No….but I also do believe in giving people second chances and I hope that if we try, you me and Natsu we can convince Uncle to just stop all that he's doing…." Hiro replied. "That's high hopes from someone like Acnologia Hiro…." Zeref scoffed. Hiro glared at him.

The two brothers froze instantly as they felt a huge aura moving towards them, "Anna…." Hiro muttered as he rushed back following Anna's scent. While Zeref simply teleported to the clearing warning the Dragons. "Anna….take the kids away, we don't need him to know about the kids" Igneel commanded, Anna obeyed him as she took Gajeel and Natsu and began to guide them away from the Dragons, Gajeel didn't say anything as he looked at Anna and then back to the Dragons in confusion, while Natsu began to scream and fight "Dad….let me go…Dad" he began to cry out.

"Natsu….son…stay with Anna and don't make a sound. I will be back soon, I have some buisness that I have to handle" Igneel's voice boomed as he spread his wings and flew into the sky, Natsu ceased his crying and was now staring at Igneel in awe.

"What is it….Igneel…?" Metallicana asked him as he formed a barrier along with Skiadrum covering Anna,Natsu and Gajeel. Igneel didn't respond as he kept looking around, all of them now could feel the huge pressure of the aura that was moving towards them it was almost upon them but still there was no sign of who or what the aura belonged to.

Then….a man in cloak walked into the clearing his face obscured by a mask that he had pulled over his face, his hair long was billowing in the wind around him, Igneel immediately noticing the man landed back on the ground standing tall against the human who wasn't phased at all by the Dragons landing. Simply staring up at the Fire Dragon.

Hiro reached the area only to find the Dragons all on their feet almost as if they were preparing to fight, that's when Hiro noticed Igneel facing off against the man in the cloak. From Hiro's perspective all it would take Igneel was one swipe of the paw and he could crush the man right to a pulp, but the aura that was emanating from the man was nothing like Hiro had ever felt before, not even Igneel when he lost his calm had emanated such a terrifying aura.

"What do you want human….?" Igneel demanded. "What I want Fire Dragon King….is to exterminate the very existence of Dragons from this world…" he grinned. Hiro froze as he recognised the voice. "And….you've come to begin your extermination with me…?" Igneel scoffed "Should I be honoured, Acnologia…." he growled at him.

"Oh…not at all Igneel, you're my target for a completely different reason. You see you're the Fire Dragon King and I'm going to be The King of all Dragons, well you see the problem, there can't exactly be two Dragon King's out in the world" Acnologia grinned at Igneel. "Well…how are you going to be a Dragon King human….?" Weisslogia scoffed at him.

"Good question….what was your name again Skull-Crusher was it….?. Who cares, let me show you the power of a true Dragon King" Acnologia declared as the ground underneath his feet crumbled his form began to change, his body morphed as his hands turned into huge claws his feet and head transforming into a beastly figure, wings grew out of his back and finally when the transformation was done a Jet Black Dragon with blue markings all across his face and body stood in front of them.

"Now…then Igneel, let the Dragon King festival begin…" Acnologia's voice boomed as Igneel stood his ground staring back at the Dragon of Chaos.

* * *

AN : Hey people if you like the story, leave a review or if you've got any constructive criticism as well, its appreciated and as always enjoy... :D


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hiro couldn't believe his eyes not only was his Uncle back he was now a fully formed Dragon, Igneel on the other hand didn't have a calm expression anymore. "I am not going to entertain you Chaos Dragon" Igneel retorted his voice sending chills down Hiro's spine. "C'mon now Igneel, we're both Kings aren't we ?. That makes us comrades, you can call me Dragon King or Acnologia, whatever you like its upto you" Acnologia replied roaring with laughter.

Weisslogia and Metallicana stepped up beside Igneel "Just say the word Igneel and we'll take this guy down" they replied. Igneel's expression was still stoic "No…you won't, this guy is way out of your league, probably even out of my league" he responded _"This is going to be tough" _he thought to himself.

Acnologia was growing tired waiting for Igneel to make a move, he started to move and immediately Igneel was on guard glaring at him. "Seems like you're not going to be instigated then huh…?" Acnologia taunted him "Well how about I live upto my name and cause some Chaos then…" he replied, moving his claw so fast that Hiro barely had any moment to react, barely managing to get his hands up blocking as much of the impact as he could. Still he found himself flung away, had it not been for the trees in his way he felt he would have kept going.

Acnologia eagerly turned to see Igneel's reaction but the Fire Dragon King stood calm not moving an inch. "I see….you have no empathy for him, perhaps you recognized he is my nephew or did he just tell you…?" Acnologia enquired laughing, his laughter echoing around the place. "How could you do that to your own nephew of all people. What kind of monster are you….? Illyeria growled at him. Acnologia smiled showing his Draconian teeth to her "My…my you are a fiesty one….Hey Igneel, if you don't want to fight let me fight her instead". Igneel just stepped in front of Illyeria blocking her from view as Metallicana and Weisslogia did the same standing on either side of Igneel.

"So….you're not going to fight me, neither will you let them is that it…?" Acnologia asked Igneel, but the Dragons didn't respond. "Well maybe I should go give those Dragon Slayer brats of your's a visit that will atleast get a reaction out of you" Acnologia sneered flying into the sky. As soon as Igneel heard what Acnologia had said he let out a ferocious roar, that sent shivers even to the Dragons beside him.

Igneel flew up facing Acnologia in the sky. "You've grown attached to those brat's Igneel…not a worthy trait for a king, I must say". Igneel smiled "How would you know what a kingly Trait is Slayer" Igneel spat out the last word with disgust. "All fired up are you…?. For whom…?, those brats…?. Now, I have to get my hands on them" Acnologia sneered. "One of those brat's is your nephew" Igneel responded. Acnologia scoffed "Really Igneel, I didn't hesitate in almost killing my own nephew, the one I myself trained, just to get to you. You really think that I would care for the other one the abomination?".

"I told you, I won't let you lay a finger on them" Igneel retorted. "And I told you Fire Dragon King….there is no place for two Dragon Kings in this world". "Now…let the Dragon King Festival begin…." Acnologia roared as Igneel charged towards him. The two Dragons met each other with such force that a huge shockwave burst from their collision, leveling all the trees in the area, the ground far beneath them began to crack from the immense pressure being emitted by the two Dragon Kings. They traded blows, each punch sounding like a thunderclap.

All this while Hiro looked on in shock, barely having recovered from the one attack Acnologia, his uncle had hit him with, that probably didn't even have his full force behind it. And here he was looking at Igneel and Acnologia trading blows at full strength _"Did he do it, to show me the difference between us or is he too far gone now" _Hiro wondered to himself.

Igneel got the upper hand catching Acnologia by his neck and slamming him straight into the ground. But as Igneel landed on him keeping his foot on his neck, Acnologia grinned as he let out a Roar straight into Igneel's face. Blinded and probably wounded Igneel flew away trying to keep a distance from Acnologia, but the Choas Dragon was relentless following Igneel and pummeling him with a barrage of punches. Igneel grinned at Acnologia "Is that all you can do, I barely felt that" he replied as Acnologia growled charging at him again.

Just as it looked like Acnologia was going in for the final blow, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion to Hiro, as he watched Illyeria who had somehow managed to escape from the others barely manage to push away Igneel in time as Acnologia's arm pulsating with a dark purple aura slammed into Illyeria. The next thing Hiro knew, Illyeria's body was torn in half. Igneel's face had turned pale while Metalicana screamed as he caught Illyeria's upper half while the lower half fell away. Skiadrum and Weisslogia both growled charging at Acnologia who began to laugh with excitement.

Igneel was furious as he let out a powerful roar at Acnologia as the smoke cleared Acnologia stepped through grinning, but to his surprise Igneel didn't make a move as Weisslogia and Skiadrum charged at him, slamming into him from both the sides as Igneel charged at him from the front. Their combined attacks sent Acnologia falling. When he tried to control his fall, he realised his wings had gone limp, they had managed to break his wings, he barely had time to see the mountain in his path transforming back into a human and avoiding the huge peak by an felt himself plummeting even faster as he tried to angle his body into the trees to cushion his fall or atleast mitigate the impact.

Metalicana was crying profusely as Skiadrum brought Illeyria's lower half and placed it near her, Metalicana turned to Grandeeny "Grandeeny do something, heal her…" he pleaded. Grandeeny began to cry "There's nothing that I can do…for her now, she's fading" she replied. "Is the….boy…is he ok?" Illyeria managed to speak. Metalicana comforted her "Its ok….just don't exert yourself" he whispered. "Is the boy…ok…" she repeated. "We…didn't find a body, but it looked like he walked away" Weisloggia replied, "And Igneel…is…is…he alright ?" she croaked. "I..i'm fine Illyeria" Igneel replied as tears streamed down his face. "Then that's….all…that…matters..to…me" she replied as she closed her eyes drifting away a smile on her face.

Metalicana gently placed her back on the ground as he moved away the tears streaming down his face as well. "I'm going to kill that Acnologia" Weisloggia declared. "No…you won't" Igneel roared at him. "Igneel…after what just happened…." Weisslogia began but he was interrupted. "We will pay our respects to our friend, give her a proper farewell and anything that needs to be done will be done later" Igneel replied as Weisslogia calmed down agreeing to his word.

* * *

Hiro couldn't understand what happened, one second he was watching his Uncle fall through the sky and he was rooted to the spot, next he was running towards his Uncle, his emotions were under turmoil, on the one hand his Uncle was responsible for so much death and pain and he felt like he would never forgive him and yet here he was apparently going to save the man. But deep inside he felt like he could save his Uncle bring him back, find a way to save his brother from the horrible curse, find Natsu bring him back to the family and then he'd be satisfied with his life. Though it seemed far fetched Hiro wasn't going to atleast try to save his family, one at a time.

Hiro noticed Acnologia changing his trajectory as he cursed under his breathe changing directions quickly and he found himself right underneath Acnologia who landed on him. Hiro groaned as Acnologia rolled away from him. "You're welcome…" Hiro groaned out as Acnologia looked at him nonplussed "I didn't thank you…". "I know….but you're still welcome" Hiro replied. "I'm not in the mood for your antic's right now Hiro…." Acnologia declared.

"Oh….yeah ?, the first thing you do after returning, is claw the hell out of me…? Hiro quesioned. "What ?, did you want me to get you some present's while I was gone…?" Acnologia retorted. "You could have killed me…" Hiro replied. "But I didn't….i knew my nephew wouldn't be weak enough to die from that…" Acnologia said smiling at him. "What if I had….what If I hadn't trained and wasn't ready for your attack" Hiro asked him. "Then you would probably deserve to die" Acnologia replied calmly as he struggled to get back to his feet.

"Is that…it, is that all family is to you…a statistic ?" Hiro asked helping him up slowly to his feet. "Hiro…you're taking this the wrong way. What I meant was in this world of Dragon's, its essential that you make yourself stronger than these monster's or you won't survive" Acnologia replied as Hiro and him walked through the forest. "Grow strong enough to take these monster's out before they make a move on you" he continued. "Is that why you took that Dragon out because she was about to attack you then…?" Hiro asked glaring at him, Acnologia didn't respond. "They were innocent Uncle…." Hiro screamed at him. "No Dragon is innocent…Hiro" Acnologia replied. "Does that mean you too then….?" Hiro demanded. "I wont deny it, but the fact doesn't change Hiro….that there are no good Dragon's out there, it's all myth all a façade, they just sit there biding their time waiting for the right opportunity".

"What happen's when you're the last one standing, when you're the only Dragon Slayer left" Hiro demanded. "There will never be a situation like that…." Acnologia declared, while Hiro stared at him confused "There will always be another Dragon Slayer even if we were the last one's left" Acnologia replied looking at him. "No…you're out of your mind, I'm not going to be the one to mercy kill you or something" Hiro began to rant. "Hey….little buddy I'm not asking you to do it now….don't worry we have a long way to go for that….all im saying is….when the time come's you'll be ready" Acnologia replied ruffling Hiro's hair. "What about me then….?" Hiro asked him. "You'll find someone to do it for you as well…I'm pretty sure of that…." he replied.

Hiro just looked the ground "Why do you refuse to believe that Dragon's can be good Uncle…?" he asked him his voice filled with sorrow. "Hiro…Anna must have told you how I met her….right…?" Acnologia asked him. "Yeah…" Hiro answered. "Well…I was a practicing healer back in the day and my work took me all over the place, on one such day I came across a Dragon, who was in dire need of help and for some reason the Villagers in that village thought of that Dragon as a saviour and protector and pleaded with me to do what I could to save him. I did my best it took time, but I saved the Dragon and in his gratitude the Dragon said he owed me a favour and would help me any day if I asked for it. I come back home and the Dragon's attack our village. I decided to go back and claim the favour and grow stronger to protect all of us. The Dragon thought me Dragon Slaying art's, although I made it my own I didn't want to be known as a follower or subordinate of any Dragon" Acnologia said spitting out the last word with disgust.

"I go back for you and after our little journey. When I left you for a while, I decided to go pay the village and my friend's back there a visit, but to my horror I found the whole village burnt to ashes, just like our's had been. And right there in the centre I find the Dragon and a few of his friend's laughing and joking around in this hellhole" Acnologia clenched his fists remembering the scene. Hiro's face had drained of all colour, he had wanted to know the reason, but now he wished he didn't. Acnologia continued "I was furious I demanded how and why had they done something so horrible,they replied that it was some kind of festival a wager among the Dragons, the winning Dragon would get to keep their village safe while the losing one's would lose or have their village destroyed".

Acnologia paused for a second before stating "They called it the Dragon King Festival…..".

"I killed each and every Dragon standing there on that day, I took a vow to rid the Dragon's off this earth. Oh!, but it wouldn't be so simple. I would make them play their own game, have my own Dragon King Festival, but this time it's their lives on the line. The winning Dragon gets to keep their life, while the losing one's get death" Acnologia completed his speech as Hiro had no words to speak.

"So…now you know" Acnologia said, "But Uncle….not all Dragon's are like them…" Hiro began but Acnologia cut him off. "Hiro you wanted to know my reason I gave you my reason, I've got no patience to argue with you, I have to rest and heal my back. So we are done here for now" Acnologia declared a firm tone in his voice indicating the topic was over.

As Acnologia guided him towards a cave Hiro let him rest and began to leave when Acnologia called out to him "Hiro…my boy" Hiro turned towards his Uncle " I need you to do one more thing for me". "What is it Uncle….?" Hiro asked concerned. "I need you to find the Dragon Slayers and finish them" Acnologia declared. "But Uncle, Natsu…" Hiro began as Acnologia once again cut him off "Natsu and Zeref are not my problem. Free them, save them, do whatever you want to.…but do not spare those Dragon Slayers as for the Dragon's I will improve myself and I'll take care of them, they're way above your league". Acnologia sensed the doubt in Hiro's heart "The Dragon Slayer's cannot be trusted with this immense power Hiro. As for us sure we may not deserve it either, but you're there to put a stop to me and I'm there to put a stop to you, we have no intention in sharing our powers to anyone any further. In their case, they will continue this cycle and share their knowledge forever making it an endless cycle" he replied.

Hiro just nodded his head, he felt emotionally conflicted with all the thing's that he had just heard. "Hiro one last thing, if you agree or disagree with me that's fine. But make no mistake nephew, if you stand in my way I won't hesitate to take you out" Acnologia declared. "You don't have to worry about me anymore Uncle, my mind is set" Hiro declared as Acnologia smiled acknowledging his word.

* * *

Igneel and the Dragon's were gathered together with Anna holding on to the kid's who were afraid of the mood that the Dragon's were in. "Sshh…it's alright" Anna tried to console the kids as they looked like they were going to cry.

"Natsu…." Igneel called out to him, Natsu immediately stopped sobbing and began to hold back his tears as Igneel looked at him. "It's okay to cry when you're sad…." he replied as Natsu wiggled out of Anna's grasp and wobbled upto Igneel and hugged him, when Igneel reciprocated by delicately holding the child.

Weisslogia spoke up, "Igneel we still have to come up with a strategy perhaps a plan of attack, Acnologia right now is weak or hurt or probably healing from his injuries, this is our chance" he declared. Metalicana growled "Are you serious…Weisslogia, it hasn't even been a full day since we lost our friend Illyeria". Weisslogia turned to glare at Metalicana "You think I don't realize that, I want revenge I want to avenge her death, I'm the one talking about making Acnologia pay for what he's done" he growled back.

Natsu ran back to Anna as Igneel turned glaring at the two of them "Will you both stop…" he roared as both the Dragons stepped away from each other. "Listen to me all of you" Igneel addressed all the Dragon's gathered "After what just happened I feel like I need to take responsibility of Acnologia….". Everyone gathered there began to argue, when Igneel continued "Had it not been for me, Perhap's Illyeria would have been safe, now I understand Acnologia would still go after you regardless, but he may have avoided you guy's, had I not been with you".

Grandeeny stepped forward "Illyeria would have been ashamed to see how you're behaving Igneel" she said, as Igneel looked at her "She didn't save your life so you could sit here brooding about what could have been" she then turned to Weisslogia and Metalicana "Nor did she sacrifice her life, just so you idiot's could go back to fight Acnologia and make her sacrifice pointless" she replied glaring at all of them.

"Well…what do you want us to do then, Grandeeny ?" Weisslogia asked her. She turned to Igneel "Ask him…." she said as Igneel looked at her nonplussed "Me…?" he asked. Weisslogia looked like he was going to argue, when Skiadrum walked forward standing beside Igneel "I'm with you Igneel, if you want us to go attack Acnologia we will, if you want us to forget about Acnologia we will…" he replied. Weisslogia didn't move as Metalicana stepped beside Igneel as well and Weisslogia couldn't believe it "Metalicana even you…?" he asked. "Igneel has never failed us Weisslogia, if he think's its better to go after Acnologia or to stay away from him for now, then I trust him" he replied. "So…what about you Weisslogia…?" Grandeeny asked him. Weisslogia looked like he was hesitating but after a while, he stepped up beside Igneel as well. "So…what do you want us to do…Igneel" they asked him.

"I think we need to separate…" Igneel replied. "What…?" Metalicana remarked. "Wait…are you serious ?" Skiadrum demanded. "Guy's would you calm down…" Igneel roared as they fell silent. "Look…I'm not saying we aren't going to make Acnologia pay….nor am I saying we are going after Acnologia right now…" he replied. The Dragon's looked at him, waiting for him to continue "But one thing is for certain….the kid's cannot be kept safe in such a situation, for their sake we need to atleast make ourselves as far as possible as we can from Acnologia for their sake" Igneel replied.

"What about the rest of us….?" Weisslogia asked. Igneel turned to Weisslogia, Grandeeny and Skiadrum who were looking at Igneel a sad expression on them. "You guy's need to go far away and stay low, the more we stick together the easier it is for Acnologia to target us…..by keeping a distance from each other we can make sure we get stronger and conserve our energy to finally put an end to Acnologia's reign of terror" Igneel replied.

"You still wouldn't manage that if you had even a 100 years to prepare…" Zeref replied walking into the clearing. "What are you saying..?, he's stronger than all of us combined…?" Skiadrum growled. "All I'm saying is you probably would end up wagering your life on a one sided battle" Zeref replied. Igneel stepped forward addressing Zeref "We still need to try to take him down Zeref, you know how destructive he is, even if he's your Uncle…" he replied. "I don't care about my Uncle, but I should say I value my friends and Natsu…" Zeref replied. Igneel understood that what Zeref meant was he did care about him and the others but couldn't let himself to do it and risk his curse taking affect.

"Through my experimentation on Ethernano particle's I've realised that, Ethernano though harmful for consumption is still important for how strong a Mage is….or a Dragon could be. I'm not sure….we have to look into that, but according to my calculations the current level of Ethernano in the atmosphere makes it almost next to impossible for Dragon's like yourself to improve, but I've found a time period, where there is enough of Ethernano in the atmosphere to help give you the advantage over Acnologia" Zeref replied.

As Anna stared at him in shock "Zeref don't tell me you plan on using time magic..?" she demanded. "Partially right Anna, I plan on using a machine to utilize time magic" Zeref replied "Oh…and one more thing Igneel, I need time…to complete the machine". Igneel looked at Zeref "Time….is something we can't afford right now Zeref…" he replied. "You have to give me atleast a couple of years to do this…"Zeref proposed.

Igneel stood silently pondering over Zeref's request, after what felt like ages to the other's standing there he finally turned to Zeref "Alright….but Zeref I'm taking Natsu with me…." Igneel replied. "He's your son…now Igneel do as you please…" Zeref responded. "Alright then we'll meet up in a couple of years, you know how to find us…" Igneel addressed Zeref as he began to move away. He turned to Natsu calling out to him "Hey…Natsu climb aboard lets go for a ride…." Igneel stated as Natsu grinned but turned towards Anna "Anna…come with us…?" he requested her innocently. "I'm sorry Natsu you've got your Dad, but someone here has to look out for Zeref right…?" she asked him as Natsu turned to look at Zeref "Ok…I hope you find your family too Zeref" Natsu replied. As Zeref moved away from the boy, as he remembered his curse. "Take care Natsu…." Zeref managed to say as Natsu smiled running back to Igneel "Alright Dad…let's go…". Igneel spread his wings "Hold on tight Natsu…" he advised as the next moment the two of them flew off into the air, Natsu screaming for joy.

Gajeel turned to glare at Metalicana, "What's with that look on your face….?" Metalicana demanded. "Well…I'm wondering why are we still standing here when those two have already left, look at them they are gaining distance on us…" Gajeel demanded. "Who do you think you are ordering…I'm your father…" Metalicana replied. Gajeel a little frightened calmed down as he spoke in a soft tone "I'm not ordering you Metalicana, now can we go….please…?". Metalicana smiled at him "Get on, you brat…." he replied, as the duo flew up swiftly in a bid to catch up with Natsu and Igneel. One by one the Dragon's flew off with their kids into separate directions, leaving Anna and Zeref as the only one's standing there.

"Why did you decide to stay…?" Zeref asked her as Anna looked at him as if to say it was obvious "To help you….ofcourse" she replied. "Anna I won't let you meddle with time magic" he replied. "I wouldn't meddle with the working of it, but I could help you build the machine though right…? Anna asked him. Zeref couldn't find any way out of that and so he agreed.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone, hope you enjoy this chapter, if you like the story leave a review and let me know what you think :D


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Hiro returned to the clearing only to find it completely desolate, "You're a few hours late…" came a voice from behind him as he turned to look for the person behind the voice, Zeref stood staring back at him. "Zeref…" Hiro exclaimed as Zeref turned to address Anna "See…I told you he would come" he stated as Anna shook her head smiling at Hiro instead.

Hiro just ran into Anna's arms crushing her in a hug "Woah….you're going to crush me, Hiro" she exclaimed as Hiro let go of her. "Where's Ace…?" she asked him as he just looked to the ground in disappointment. Anna's face grew pale as she assumed the worst "Is Ace…is he…?" she asked worried. "No he's fine he just broke his back, nothing that won't heal up even faster now, with his Draconification" Hiro answered. Anna relaxed as Hiro turned towards Zeref, "Don't even think about it…." Zeref replied as he moved away. "I told you…if you come close to me and I lose control, I'll end up killing you" Zeref replied. "And I told you, you're my brother and I will do all that I have to, to protect you from this curse. I've lost far too many people already Zeref, and I'm not losing you too.." Hiro declared.

Zeref felt a smile appear on his face something he thought he would never do, "Alright…but I have one more question, how did Acnologia let you go….?" Zeref asked him as Anna stood to the side listening to the conversation. Hiro hesitated as the two people who were the most important to him waited for his answer "Well he…he wanted me to eliminate the Dragon Slayers" Hiro replied as Anna grew furious "He…did what…?" she demanded pushing Zeref aside. Hiro began to quiver under Anna's glare as he tried to scurry away "He…sent you literally on an Assassination mission and you agreed…?" she demanded. "I mean…I wasn't going to….not that I could, I mean I could but I would never do that…" Hiro began to ramble.

Zeref interjected himself between them "Will the two of you, calm down" he replied as he separated Hiro from Anna who glaring at him. "But…but I didn't even do anything…" Hiro replied. "You should have….you should have denied Acnologia" Anna declared. "He's far stronger than me….what could I do against him…?" Hiro questioned. "Is that…all you learnt while staying with me, to give into fear, to do thing's that you do not wish to, out of fear ?" she demanded inturn.

"Alright, look Anna. I think what Hiro did was right" Zeref replied. "Sure..you say that now that you've got the Curse of Contradiction, you don't value life…" she declared as Zeref ignored her and continued "What I mean to say is, there's no way Hiro the way he is now, would have succeeded at what he was sent to do" he replied. "What do you mean..?" Hiro asked him. "You see…Acnologia knew very well you couldn't possibly get to the Dragon Slayers with the Dragon's still around them protecting them, so he either sent you here to your death or he wanted to keep you safe, knowing Anna and the Dragon's wouldn't harm you. All the while he could recuperate from his injury and come back to finish the job following your scent" Zeref declared. "You sure…that's Acnologia's line of thought and not yours Zeref ?" Anna asked him. "Trust me I was Acnologia's golden nephew until, Chaos boy here was born" he replied.

With all that behind them Hiro was confused as to why Anna and Zeref were still here "Hey…Anna where are Igneel, Natsu and the other Dragons…?" he asked her. "Well we have no idea where the Dragons and their Dragon Slayers have gone to…and we would like to keep it that way…" Anna replied. "Well..what's the plan here then…?" Hiro asked her. Once Hiro had caught up to Zeref's plan he had a bunch of questions about all of it, but he decided to ask the one he felt was important to their current situation "That's fine and well but where are we going to build this machine let alone stay at for the duration of the construction?" Hiro enquired.

Zeref looked at him, with a look that said "Are you serious…?". "Why are you giving me that look for…?" Hiro retorted. "Weren't you like staying in caves or did Acnologia actually make a shelter for you guys…?" Zeref asked him. "Don't even get me started on that,its like I've forgotten what a home feels like…" Hiro replied. "I'm going to kill Ace…."Anna growled. "We can discuss killing Acnologia later, for now we need to find a place to start working on the gate". Zeref replied. "Not to mention a place to rest…." Hiro interjected like it was the most important thing.

"You guys can stay at my place" Anna suggested. "I don't think it would be wise to have me in the same house as the two of you Anna, though Hiro should definitely stay at your place" Zeref replied. "How many times do I tell you Zeref, I'm not leaving you alone" Hiro retorted. "Why ?…what do you think is going to happen to me ?. I'll be perfectly fine, and with this Immortality, there's nothing that could possibly harm me…." Zeref replied. "I don't care if you're immortal Zeref, I'm not leaving you" Hiro responded. "Hiro stop behaving stubborn like a child" Zeref berated him.

"Really I'm behaving like a child ?. Fine….i maybe, but do you know why ?. Because my Uncle has turned into a Killer, while my other brother has disappeared to places unknown with a Dragon. A Dragon that my Uncle wants to kill, along with my brother. All the while, the only other brother, the only family I have, keeps pushing me away" Hiro retorted. Zeref looked like he was about to say something when Hiro interjected him "What…?, it's about your curse…?" he questioned "Look Zeref, if you do not try to control your curse, you will never be able to control it. Instead you'll always be the one under it's control" he replied. "That's no reason to decide to gamble your life on my curse now, is it…?" Zeref retorted.

"Alright, that's enough…" Anna interjected. "Look….the two of you can either stay in the house with me or stay outside", "What were we arguing for again…?" Zeref replied mocking Anna's response. While Anna continued "For now….we will make a new place for Zeref to stay close by as soon as possible, until then could the two of you come to an agreement…? she pleaded. The two boys didn't actually respond, but when they saw Anna glaring at them, they began to nod their heads in agreement.

"Well…Hiro you and Zeref could share the old room of yours" Anna declared as they entered the house. "I don't think that's a great idea Anna, I mean having me and Hiro in such close proximity could result in disaster, also I don't really need sleep anymore, so I'll begin working on the Eclipse Gate" Zeref replied. Hiro looked like he wanted to argue when Anna held him back "Hiro, Zeref agreed to your terms,now it's time you agree to his…" she smiling sweetly at him. "Alright fine…" Hiro gave in as Zeref grinned at him. "Wipe that cocky grin of your face, I stil managed to rope you in to stay in the house" he declared proudly as Zeref just scoffed and walked away.

"Hiro…" Anna called out to him as he began to make his way to his old room, "He'll be fine, now that you're with him" she replied. Hiro didn't reply but just smiled at her "Goodnight Anna" he said walking away.

Zeref had retreated to the roof of the house where he had already made up a makeshift workstation for himself, with a table and notes strewn all over the table. He had already come up with a basic design of the gate, but he was having difficulty with coming up with an energy source for the Gate. To create a mechanism that could manipulate something as sensitive as Time magic, he would need a powerful and stable energy source. What really elated Zeref was the fact that he felt that he could control his curse when he had something else to focus his mind on. He understood with his mind focused on the Gate, his emotions weren't running wild and he could control it, thus ensuring Anna and Hiro's safety.

Zeref hadn't realised how long he had been sitting with his notes, "So….you're still out here working on this Gate…?" Hiro inquired walking out to meet him. "I told you I don't need to sleep anymore so what did you expect to find me doing…?" Zeref retorted. "Quit being grumpy, I only came here to tell you Anna wanted to talk to you" Hiro replied. Zeref nodded as he assembled the notes that he had made and began to follow Hiro.

Hiro went ahead guiding Zeref to an enclosure where Anna and the rest of the Celestial Spirits were busy assembling materials for their apparatus, while Zeref just stood there looking at them stumped "I haven't even told you what…materials I need…" he said addressing Anna. "Well…if there is anything else apart from the material we already have, you can let me know and I'll have it arranged" Anna replied. "Maginium…" Zeref responded almost immediately. Anna looked at him bewildered "Why…Maginium ?, Zeref...?" she asked him. "We need to be prepared for everything Anna and we need it if we want the Gate to survive anything magical or non magical" Zeref answered. "Well it's going to take sometime…" Anna replied.

Zeref didn't respond, so lost was he in his thoughts "What's eating you up…?" Hiro asked him. "Huh…what…?" Zeref asked, when he realised Hiro was talking to him. "Alright…seriously, I think you need to rest" Hiro replied, before Zeref could interrupt he continued "Now…I know you don't need to, but I don't think there's any harm in trying it". Zeref looked at Anna "He's not wrong you know…" she replied. "The two of you aren't going to let this go are you…" Zeref replied. Anna didn't react while Hiro just grinned back at him, "Alright fine, this is the basic design of the gate that we can start working on, Anna…" Zeref said handing the blueprints to Anna. Anna called out her Celestial Spirits as they began to work on the design that Zeref had given them.

As Zeref lay on the makeshift bed that Anna had made for him, he just couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tried to, on the other hand he also had a big obstacle in finding a suitable power source that could activate the Eclipse gate, not to mention the time constraint that was looming over his head. Zeref needed a source that was powerful enough to power the gate but that could be used in a controlled manner so that the person operating the gate wouldn't be affected by it. Zeref didn't realise how long had been lying there pondering on the issue, but it was dark outside, when the realization dawned on him.

Zeref couldn't wait to share his idea for the power source with Hiro and Anna and as soon as it was Dawn and the both of them were awake, Zeref was there almost bouncing with excitement. "Shouldn't you be reigning in your emotions…?" Hiro asked him. "I am excited about an inanimate object and my curse hasn't been acting up in days…calm down little bro…" Zeref replied. "Well what is it that you wanted to talk to us about then…?" Anna interjected. "Well remember when I said I hadn't figured out a potential power source to the gate" Anna and Hiro nodded in acknowledgment, as Zeref continued "Well I think I may have found a power source" he replied, "Zeref, stop beating around the bush and just tell us…" Hiro groaned. "Fine….i'm thinking we use the Celestial keys to power the Eclipse Gate" he replied.

"What….?, is that even possible…?" Hiro asked nonplussed. Zeref turned looking at Anna for the answer "Well I guess it could work, I mean there's no harm in trying right…?" Anna began to ponder "Let's ask Loki and Aquarius" she replied summoning the Celestial Spirits. Loke almost appeared instantly the moment Anna had taken his name whereas Anna used Aquarius' key to summon her. "Yo….Uncle Loke…" Hiro called out to him grinning profusely. "Uncle….?" Zeref asked raising an eyebrow in question looking at Loke, "How many times do I tell you, don't call me that" Loke growled back at him. Hiro began to laugh in response as Loke glared at him. "Loke, you're a Celestial Spirit not a kid, behave like one" Aquarius remarked, as Loke calmed down reluctantly.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you two know the reason I called for you" Anna replied, "We understand Miss Anna, but I must say I'm not sure if this is possible" Aquarius replied, while Loke was uncharacteristically silent. "Loke what do you, think…?" Anna asked him. "Aquarius' concern is valid, because this maybe something that could anger the Celestial King, but on the other hand as a Celestial Mage, you make use of our powers on a regular basis, if not daily, so using our keys to power the Gate shouldn't be an issue. As long as it is you, operating the Gate" Loke concluded.

Anna was the one silent now, as the boys and the Celestial Spirits looked at her, "So what your saying is, as long as it is a Celestial Mage operating the Gate, then we need not worry about breaking any rules or angering the Celestial King is that it ?" Anna asked Loke. "Anna…I'm no expert but according to basic Celestial rules, I would say so" Loke replied. Anna nodded her head in acknowledgement and almost immediately went into work mode "Alright, Zeref we almost have all the material that you had asked for, so we can start working on the construction of the Eclipse Gate" she said calling out Taurus and Capricorn to help out in the construction of the Gate.

* * *

**Five Years Later**

Hiro stood staring in awe at the colossal structure in front of him, he couldn't believe it. But finally, after 5 years of working on the Gate, some ending in absolute failure, they had finally done it. The Eclipse Gate was now ready, Anna had just successfully used the Celestial Keys to open the Gate. Granted they probably wasted the attempt, but after the enormous number of failures before, none of them were enthusiastic about this attempt. But to their astonishment it worked and now the next order of buisness was to inform the Dragons about the Gate.

The Dragons along with their Slayers had gone their separate ways, to avoid detection by Acnologia. So It would probably take a while to gather all of them and bring them back together, to travel through the Eclipse Gate.

For the last five years Hiro and the others had no idea where Acnologia had gone to, they had no idea whether Acnologia had found the other Dragons yet. Hiro on the other hand had a pretty monotonous life, what with helping out on the construction of the Eclipse Gate, he had also asked Anna to let him train against the Celestial Spirit's to test himself. One thing he had not forgotten since his time with his Uncle was the training discipline that Acnologia had instilled in him, even in all the years that they had been separated Hiro never stopped training. Hiro looked at Zeref whose face was like a stone, there was no expression of relief or joy,Zeref was just standing there looking at the Gate.

Zeref's curse kept getting worse over the years there were times he would leave the construction or helping Anna in figuring out the working of the Gate and just disappeared for days or weeks, before returning, and each time he came back Hiro felt like a part of his brother never came back he was getting more distant and more fixated with the Gate, than with even having a conversation with either Anna or him.

This was one of those rare occasions where Zeref would actually wait with the group to see if the Gate worked and then he would be gone either to the roof that he had basically blocked with ruin magic, that only allowed people in, when he wished to let them in.

Now watching all the others celebrate and rejoice that the Gate worked, while Zeref stood to the side unmoved made Hiro's blood boil as he stormed upto his elder brother. "Hey…Zeref we need to talk" Hiro barked out. Zeref turned to meet him "What do you want….Hiro…?" he asked him. "What do you mean what do I want ?, this is something we have been dreaming of since a long time and now that we have achieved it, you won't even acknowledge it…?" Hiro demanded. "Well we still have a lot to do…get Igneel and the others here, send them through to the future, our work isn't done yet" Zeref replied.

Suddenly the whole group fell silent as a familiar aura approached them. Zeref was frozen shocked _"No…it can't be why now…?" _he began to worry, his curse beginning to manifest as everyone backed away from him.

Acnologia walked into the clearing,staring at the scene unfolding in front of him. Zeref was now surrounded by dark thendrils. Acnologia just walked forward nonchalantly, "Don't come near me" Zeref screamed as he tried to teleport away, he found an arm clamp around him as Acnologia walked right upto him and hugged him.

Everyone stood still shocked and amazed and what just happened. Zeref began to calm down, but the thendrils were still surrounding the two of them. Zeref let go of Acnologia as they separated the curse now relatively abating "How…are you still alive…?" he exclaimed staring at Acnologia in amazement. "What, is that the way you greet your Uncle…you haven't seen in years…?" Acnologia demanded. "That's not what I meant Uncle, my curse it was getting out of control and you just walked through like it was nothing…" Zeref replied. "That….was your curse…?" Acnologia asked "Well not impressive, when I sensed your aura I thought you might have achieved something remarkable Zeref, I see I have been disappointed by you once again".

"It's not possible you should be dead…." Zeref replied. "It's wrong to wish such thing's on your family Zeref" Acnologia replied "That said I am the Dragon King, the Dragon of Chaos. I am immune to any and all forms of magic" Acnologia replied. Zeref heaved a sigh of relief "Does this mean I can be myself around you ?" Zeref asked him. "Well, why don't you give it a try…" Acnologia responded, Zeref just ran to Acnologia hugging him tight "Im…so sorry I wanted to get back to you people, but Mom and Dad weren't there and Natsu was dead and I wanted to bring him back, but it was difficult and Anksheram he cursed me …." Zeref began to ramble on and on as Acnologia stopped him.

"Relax…Zeref, tell me everything…" Acnologia replied as Zeref sat down beside him telling him everything that transpired but leaving out the details of the Dragons and the Eclipse Gate. Hiro couldn't believe his eyes, Zeref for the first time looked somewhat close to the brother he remembered, he was crying profusely and Acnologia was consoling him, _"What in the world's going on…?" _Hiro wondered to himself.

Once Zeref had spoken his part Acnologia stayed beside him, reassuring him "We'll handle this Anksheram and get rid of your curse, but first I have some business to attend to…" he replied standing up. He turned to look at Hiro standing beside Anna "Hiro, won't you come and meet your Uncle…?" he inquired as Hiro turned to look at Anna, who just shook her head, gently nudging him ahead. Acnologia approached him "You've grown up…" he exclaimed proudly "Hey…Anna,aren't you pleased to see me…?" Acnologia asked smiling at her. Anna didn't respond "So, that's how it is huh ? Anna…?" he questioned.

"Well then, let's get down to business. Where are the Dragon's Anna…?" he demanded. "Ace…you don't have to do this…" Anna began, Acnologia was beside her in an instant "I'm not playing games Anna, tell me where the Dragon's and their Dragon Slayers are…" he demanded. Anna was shell-shocked she couldn't utter a word under Acnologia's immense aura and glare, Hiro stepped in "They aren't here Uncle, the first thing I did after leaving you, was search for them, but its like they disappeared" Hiro replied. "If this is a lie Hiro….i swear I will not spare even you, my own family…" Acnologia growled at him.

"They are telling the truth…" Zeref replied standing up wiping his tears away from his face. Acnologia turned surprised at having Zeref speak up. "They left not long after the two of you were gone, but I have no idea where they could have gone to" he replied. Acnologia turned to look at Zeref "What reason would you have to hand over Natsu, to a Dragon like Igneel…?" Acnologia asked Zeref, though his voice didn't contain any anger in it, his aura wasn't deceiving anyone. Zeref was boldly standing his ground against Acnologia "I did it so Natsu would get stronger" he replied. Acnologia scoffed "Stronger…?, isn't he part Etherious ?, would it be a good thing to make him an abomination of an Etherious and a Dragon ?" Acnologia retorted. "It doesn't matter, I needed Natsu to get stronger. Strong enough to be able to defeat the Dragon King and the Immortal Black Mage" Zeref replied. "And you think your brother is capable of that…?"Acnologia demanded. "I don't think he is capable of that, I'm telling you he is capable of that" Zeref replied.

Acnologia scoffed before turning to address Hiro "Boy, we need to talk…"Acnologia commanded. Hiro began to move towards Acnologia, when Anna spoke up "Ace….he's just a boy, he's lost his family, how could you ask a child, to do something of this nature…?" Anna demanded. Acnologia stopped in his track walking back to Anna, as the Celestial Spirits stood beside her on guard, but from the looks on their face it was evident they didn't wish to engage in a fight with the Chaos Dragon.

"Hiro and Zeref are not alone, I'm their Uncle, I'm their family…" Acnologia declared. "And still somehow, Hiro's own family is asking him to end his brother's life…?" Anna demanded. "I already told him, Natsu isn't a concern, the rest of the Slayers though are…" Acnologia replied. "So the lives of those kid's don't matter ?" she demanded furiously.

Acnologia didn't seem phased he cooly looked into Anna's eyes "Well that Anna depends on your dear Hiro, if he wishes to kill them when they are infants or if he wishes to wait until they grow older. Since I've bestowed that responsibility on him" he replied. "Well Anna as I've already told and discussed this with Hiro, he could decide not to as I asked of him, but make no mistake I am going to exterminate the very existence of Dragons off of this world".

Acnologia began to grin "So…Anna run to your Dragon friends and tell them that the Dragon King is coming to collect a debt" he sneered "And Hiro…my child, you better make up your mind, I won't be waiting to long for your decision" saying this Acnologia turned to leave, when he saw the Eclipse Gate. "My…my what is this…?" Acnologia mocked the group, everyone stood still fearing the worst. "Is this possibly a mean to possibly defeat me…?" he asked, as Anna and Hiro went pale, the colour draining from their face.

Zeref stepped forward "It's a time gate Uncle" he replied. "A time….Gate…?" Acnologia asked confused, inspecting the Gate carefully. "Zeref….even you wouldn't be foolish enough to experiment with Time Magic…." he replied concerned. "What can I say Uncle….this immortality can make you do crazy things" Zeref responded. Acnologia began to laugh "I would have bought that, had Anna and the others not been helping you…" he replied. Zeref smiled "That's simple Uncle, you know how my curse affects people and Hiro and Anna here couldn't bear to see me suffer, so when I said I wanted to go back in time to change the past they were more than willing to help me, if only to relieve my suffering and keep me company" Zeref replied as Anna and Hiro looked at him confused. "And you think this is absolutely going to work…?" Acnologia questioned him. "I can't guarantee anything but, hey I'm an Immortal what could go wrong…?" Zeref replied. "Alright, I get the message, I'll be leaving now…" Acnologia replied he turned to look at Anna, Hiro and Zeref one last time before transforming infront of them and flying away.

"So…that was an interesting interaction…" Hiro said. Anna and Zeref on the other hand looked completely serious. "Anna we need to let Igneel and the others know, what just happened the Gate's ready as well, we cannot afford to waste more time" Zeref declared "I'll go find Igneel and the others until then Hiro, Anna guard the Eclipse Gate". "No…Zeref, I don't think you should go to find Igneel and the others" Anna replied "Acnologia would definitely be keeping tabs on Hiro, you and me. If we ever found Igneel and the others, Acnologia wouldn't be far behind" Anna replied.

"Well…what other option do we have…?" Zeref groaned in frustration. "Well there is one thing we can do…" Anna replied, she called out Loke who appeared in front of them "Loke, I need you to find the Fire Dragon King Igneel and give him this message". Anna said giving Loke the entire gist of what just transpired with the Gate and Acnologia, "And Loke, please tell Igneel to hasten" she pleaded. "Miss Anna, I will make this my priority" Loke replied respectfully "But I must warn you even, in the Celestial Realm it could take a while to find them". "I understand Loke" Anna replied as Loke smiled and returned back to Celestial Realm.

"Are you sure about this Anna ?" Hiro asked her. "Well trust me Loke would find them much faster than we ever could" she answered. "Well that does it then…all we can do is wait now. "Well now I can finally be all younger brotherly with you…" Hiro replied. "What do you mean…?" Zeref asked. "Well if you curse doesn't affect Uncle, then it won't affect me…" Hiro replied. "What…that's not possible…I mean is it…?" he asked Anna. "I don't know…it could be…" she replied.

"Oh…I know we should train to pass the time…" Hiro replied. "What…?" Zeref asked. "Well, I would usually train with Loke, but now that he's pre occupied, why don't the two of us spar and train" Hiro replied. "Well don't expect me to go easy on you then brother" Zeref replied grinning. "Let's do this…." Hiro grinned taking a fighting stance.

* * *

**Two Years Later**

Hiro and Zeref had just finished sparring. It had been two years and now Hiro felt that the training had paid off, Zeref's immortality meant he could take more punishment and usually would egg Hiro on to use more force in his attacks, Hiro personally felt that he had improved a lot training with Zeref, than what he had been doing training alone.

A few months ago Loke had turned up and informed them that Igneel had received their message and that he was on the move gathering the Dragons, but months passed away and there was no sign of Igneel nor Natsu nor the other Dragons.

On this day though, things were different the sun was almost setting and to their surprise Anna,Natsu and Hiro saw five huge silhouette flying towards them, a few moments later the five Dragons landed in front of them.

Igneel smiled letting Natsu down, as he clung onto Igneel staring at the new faces in confusion. "Relax, Natsu these are our friends…" Igneel replied as Natsu slowly let go off him. Igneel and the others greeted Zeref and Anna, but when they saw Hiro they expressions immediately changed. "What is the Chaos spawn doing here ?" Igneel demanded. "Relax…Igneel, Hiro's my brother. He's not going to harm Natsu or anything" Zeref replied. "I'd like to see him try and harm the kids…" Metallicana growled. "I'm sorry Zeref…" Igneel replied "As long as he's here we won't go ahead with the plan".

Hiro stepped forward "That's alright Igneel. I understand your worry, I'll leave" he said. "Worry..?, boy if you stay here another minute we cannot garauntee you will see tommorow" Skiadrum growled at him, as Grandeeny tried to calm the Dragon's down. Hiro stopped in his tracks "So…my Uncle having this blind rage against all Dragon's for what a few Dragon's did to my village is wrong, but you having a blind rage against me, a child who hasn't even done anything to you, or your kids is right…?" Hiro demanded. "Did you just mock us boy…?" Metallicana growled.

"That's enough…" Igneel declared. "Your scaring the kids, you idiots" he said motioning to the kids cowering near Anna. "Hiro…my child after all these years I still feel the pain of our loss and I do understand the pain of your….loss. And I do not blame you, for your Uncle's actions, but right now everyone's emotions are running high and im requesting that you would be kind enough to leave us alone at this moment" Igneel requested him. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you.." Hiro replied addressing the Dragons, when they didn't respond Igneel glared at them "We're sorry for lashing out at you too kid…" they replied in unison.

Hiro gave them a genuine smile of gratitude and began to walk away. As he walked further away he found Zeref teleporting infront of him. "Zeref, what are you doing here…?" he asked. "What, I couldn't leave my youngest brother alone now, could I …?" Zeref replied. "But don't they need you over there to operate the Gate ?" Hiro questioned. "Don't worry….i already told Anna, how to operate the Gate and she in turn already wrote down the information to pass on to her family in the future. Her niece will help her with closing the gate" he replied casually.

"But what…if her niece gets attacked..or if something goes wrong…" Hiro asked worried. "Relax…little brother, she's a pretty strong Celestial Mage herself, she'll be fine" Zeref reassured him. Hiro calmed down but was still looked a bit worried. "Alright, what is it now…?" Zeref asked him. "I just wanted to tell Anna, Goodbye one last time, and I didn't even get to meet Natsu once again" Hiro replied.

"Alright, lets go…" Zeref replied. "What…where…?" Hiro asked him confused. "You're going with Anna and the other's to the future" Zeref replied. "Why…and even if I wanted to, I don't think Igneel and the other's would agree" Hiro responded. "Well that's why we are going to wait till they enter the gate…and then send you behind them at the last moment" Zeref replied.

"I guess that makes sense, but what about you ?, I can't leave you alone" Hiro replied. "I'm immortal genius, I'll be there in the future just the same" Zeref replied. "Anna, Natsu, Acnologia everyone would be there, but if you stay now, you won't….and I don't want that. Now are we doing this or not…?" Zeref asked him impatiently. "Alright, fine…." Hiro said giving in. "But the Eclipse isn't until tomorrow" Hiro replied. "Well, then we've got time to waste" Zeref replied, as the two brothers sat talking to each other through the night.

Zeref didn't realise when but Hiro had fallen asleep. Hiro and Acnologia were like gifts in his cursed life the only two people who he didn't have to play a facade with, hide his emotions or feelings with and now his brother was going to leave him, but what was important was that Natsu and Hiro would be together. Zeref couldn't fall asleep, he stayed awake just reminiscing about Natsu and Hiro, through the rest of the night.

The next day as the time of the Eclipse drew nearer Hiro and Zeref carefully made their way towards the Gate concealing their aura as much as possible. But to their surprise they found that the Dragon's to be missing while Anna had the kids huddled around her giving them instructions.

"Where are they…?. Did they go through already..?, what's going on…?" Hiro asked flabbergasted. "I have no idea….why are you asking me..?" Zeref demanded. "Well your Igneel's friend right ?, I thought he might have told you something" Hiro answered. "So…what did you think that I'm putting on a act, that I'm lying hiding thing's from you…?" Zeref inquired. "Zeref, that's not what I meant I was just curious if Igneel had ever mentioned any other plan to you" Hiro replied. "_Well, no and it doesn't make sense if Anna and the other's are opening the Gate's and even if Acnologia could sense them, why would they take the risk of missing the Eclipse" _Zeref thought to himself.

Zeref found Hiro shaking him out of his stupor "Huh…what..?" he mumbled. "They're leaving genius, where were you lost…?" Hiro asked agitated. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about Igneel and the others" Zeref answered. "Well, it's time to stop thinking and taking an action" Hiro replied pointing to the Gate, that was now open and one by one Anna was leading the children into the Gate.

Zeref immediately shifted into action mode, as his demeanor changed, grabbing Hiro and teleporting right near the Gate. While Anna's niece stood shocked at the sudden appearance of the two. "I'm sorry, but there's someone else that need's to go through the Gate, before you close it. Once he's in I promise I will help you close the Gate personally" Zeref told her as she didn't answer just staring at Zeref in fear and awe. She just nodded her head no as Zeref grew furious. Hiro immediately held him back "Calm down brother" he said pushing Zeref aside.

Turning to Anna's niece Hiro addressed her "Please, listen to me Anna's very important to me and I couldn't even get to say goodbye to her, not to mention the fact that my brother is in there with her. I just want to make sure that they are alright, that's all I want" Hiro told her. "Your Hiro…?" she asked him. Hiro nodded his head "Anna, spoke so much about you, she even said that you would come to say goodbye to her" she replied. "Well…if Anna's spoken about me, you should atleast have an idea about how important my brother and her are to me…" Hiro replied. Anna's niece just nodded here head "Alright, I mean…ok I'll let you go but you need to hurry we are running out of time" she declared as Hiro thanked her "Thank…you so much…" he paused, "Elizabeth…" she replied. "Elizabeth" he completed, crushing her in a hug before turning to his brother "I'll see you on the other side Big bro…" he replied giving him a quick hug before rushing into the Eclipse Gate.

Once inside the Eclipse Gate, Hiro felt like he had been dropped into a pool of sludge, it felt like he was drowning but he could barely breathe, at the same time he could walk on an invisible path. Hiro tried his hardest to get to the other end of the Eclipse Gate as Zeref and Elizabeth had closed the Gate behind him, by the time Hiro could reach the other end of the Gate though, the Gate closed.

Hiro couldn't believe it, he was stuck inside the Eclipse Gate, there was no Zeref, Anna or Acnologia to help him out here, what was he going to do, was this his end, he began to ponder.

* * *

**AN : **Hey everyone, man this chapter is the longest i have ever written, man it was tiring. If you like the story leave a review to let me know or if you have any piece of advice or criticism as well let me know as well, Once again thank you guys and Enjoy :D.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Hiro found himself rooted to the spot, every second in the void felt like an eternity to him. He didn't know how long he was stuck in the void but he began to feel tired and weak, it was like the void inside the Eclipse Gate was slowly siphoning away his energy. Hiro didn't know what to do, he couldn't find a hint or trace of the Gate to force his way through, nor did he know if he had the energy left if that opportunity was presented to him.

Soon Hiro's hopes of an escape or being rescued completely vanished as all the thoughts he had left were negative thoughts. He began to wonder, if anyone ever used the Eclipse Gate, would they end up finding his lifeless body. He always wanted to meet his older brother Natsu, who he had never seen. He had wanted to break Zeref's curse, freeing him. He had wanted to make Acnologia see sense and let go of all the grudges he held. A mirthless smile appeared on Hiro's face as he hoped he could have achieved atleast one of his goals before his demise.

As Hiro stayed there pondering upon the past and the future, he had now dropped down to a knee feeling even more drained. To his surprise the Eclipse Gate suddenly reappeared but he had no energy to move back towards it. What was even more shocking to Hiro was the fact that someone seemed to be walking towards him,_ "Was Zeref back to save him ?" _Hiro began to wonder.

Lucy Heartfilia had just managed to escape the Dragon infested ruins of her world and opened the Eclipse Gate in the hopes to change the past and thus changing the future. To Future Lucy's surprise she found a person already inside the Eclipse Gate as she entered and from her vantage point it looked like they were in immense pain. Without giving a second thought Future Lucy ran towards the person, but as she came closer she was surprised to find the one person she was hoping to find, as well as nervous to meet, "Natsu….?" she called out.

Hiro heard the person approaching him, it seemed like they were running towards him, he must have been in a bad shape for whoever it was to run towards him with such haste. When Hiro turned to see who it was he was shocked to see Anna running towards him, Hiro couldn't believe it_"That's not possible, Anna is in the future with Natsu and the others, she wouldn't just abandon them, even if she knew I was in trouble she would have sent someone else to help. But how would Anna know I was in trouble ?" _he thought to himself, that's when he heard her call out Natsu's name. _"Her voice sounds different ?" _he wondered_, "well who cares I just want to get out of here"_ he declared to himself.

As Future Lucy came closer to who she expected to be Natsu, she realised that though he looked the same as Natsu, he had black hair instead of the pink that was associated with Natsu. Future Lucy approached the person carefully being as cautious as she could be. Hiro raised his head finding the girl looking at him curiously "I'm sorry you look a lot like someone I know" she replied nervously. "It's alright, you remind me of someone I know as well" Hiro replied as Future Lucy helped him stand up supporting his weight "What are you doing…?" Hiro enquired. "Helping you get out of this place !" Future Lucy answered as if to say it was obvious. "No, I get that, I mean why…?" Hiro questioned as Future Lucy struggled to hold him up as they moved towards the exit of the Eclipse gate. "What do you mean why…?, do you want me to leave you here…?" Future Lucy asked confused. "No…no, please" Hiro replied in a hurry.

"So…who..do you have opening the gate on the other end…?" Hiro asked her as they hurried as fast as they could "On the other side…?" Future Lucy asked surprised. "You need another Celestial Mage to open the gate on the other end…" Hiro answered "You knew that right…?". Future Lucy looked sheepishly to the ground "Yeah well, let's hope it's open" Future Lucy replied while Hiro glared at her.

To their horror the gate was still shut. "Well that's brilliant now we both die…" Hiro declared groaning in frustration slamming his fists into the gate. "Would you calm down let me think of a solution…" Future Lucy retorted. "A solution…?, a solution…?" Hiro growled "I've been stuck here for no one knows how long and you're telling me, you'll find a solution…?" he demanded, before Future Lucy could respond however the gate began to open. "Oh…c'mon" Hiro groaned as Future Lucy grinned at him victoriously.

When the Eclipse gate opened though Future Lucy was surprised to see that everyone had fallen unconcious, "What happened…?" Future Lucy asked confused looking at Hiro for answers. "Don't worry they are asleep, I just used "Sleep" spell on them, they won't even remember any of this happening" he replied "You should probably close the doors and move them as far as possible from the gate or their magic will be consumed by the gate". Future Lucy obliged closing the gates and moving Princess Hisui away from the gates "How do you know these things…?" Future Lucy questioned him. "Well I knew someone that worked on the Eclipse Gate…" Hiro answered. "Really who was it…?" she asked again. "Alright…you do know I'm weak and my spell on them is probably going to run out soon and I'm guessing you don't want them seeing you…?" he questioned her in turn. "Alright, let's go…" Future Lucy answered as she supported Hiro and they left the palace carefully staying away from any watchful eye.

Once outside Future Lucy made sure to hide Hiro in a desolate alleyway and left to get some food. Hiro lay there on the ground amazed at being freed from his unending prison sentence that was the Eclipse Gate, he was tired he was a bit sleepy and he felt like he could barely perform any other spell in his condition.

Future Lucy returned with a pile of food and a huge black cloak, "Where and how did you manage to get all this…?" Hiro asked her amazed. "Well I walked into the stores pretending to be the present me and I put all the stuff I purchased on her tab" Future Lucy replied calmly biting into the food. "And you're okay with that…?" Hiro asked her. "Well…look at you, you wouldn't survive if I hadn't done it" she replied. "You're a kind person…." Hiro paused as Lucy looked at him "Oh….right we haven't introduced ourselves, I'm Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia" she replied. "Well…I'm Hiro Dragneel…" Hiro replied.

"Wait…so you are related to Natsu…" Future Lucy replied amazed at the revelation, "I would hope so, after all I'm his brother" Hiro responded, Future Lucy spat out the juice that she was having "Brother…?" she asked. "Yeah, how do you think I was related to Natsu..?" Hiro questioned. "I don't know, seeing as you were in the Eclipse gate, I thought you were his Ancestor or something like that" Future Lucy replied "Anyway go on…". Hiro retold his story and how he ended up in the Eclipse gate, when he had finished Future Lucy had a neutral expression just staring at Hiro in a calm manner "I just told you Natsu is from the past and is related to both Zeref and Acnologia and you have nothing to say…?" he asked her astounded.

"Well…Dragon's don't exist in our timeline and after all the thing's Natsu's been through him being half Etherious and half human is the least surprising thing to me…" she replied as tears began to flow out of her eyes. Hiro was dumbstruck he had never been in a situation where he had to console a person, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you…" he replied trying to console her. "You….didn't, it's just that I miss him so much and I would do anything to have him back here with me" she cried "And it's all my fault that he's dead". "What happened ….?" Hiro asked her his voice somber and serious, Future Lucy began to tell Hiro everything that had happened in her timeline about the Dragons and Natsu's death and how she had managed to use the Eclipse gate to escape her timeline.

"Acnologia was right…." Hiro said suddenly standing up, his aura was threatening to rise. "Hiro you need to calm down" Future Lucy chided him "And you seriously think what Acnologia told you was right…?" Future Lucy demanded. "What…do you mean…?, Natsu lost his life to those damn Dragons not once but twice" he declared angrily. "I'm not going to argue with you Hiro, but there are always going to be good and bad sides to anyone Dragons, Humans, everyone, if you keep going through life holding this grudge it's going to end up destroying your life and the lives of your loved one's. So please don't end up following Acnologia and his teaching, if you want to blame someone for Natsu's death blame me" she replied. "Natsu was trying to protect you" Hiro replied. "Well..if you believe that, then let this grudge go…" Future Lucy replied.

There was a tense silence between the two of them, when Lucy spoke up "You…know I never knew my Ancestor was such an amazing Celestial Mage". Hiro smiled "Yeah Anna was brilliant, did you know she was one the first Mage to collect all 12 Celestial Spirit Keys" he replied. "That's amazing, one day I want to be as good as her" Future Lucy replied lost in her thoughts.

Suddenly the two of them could feel the heat rising "What's going on…?" Hiro asked her. "It's Natsu….the match has begun, let's go I don't want to miss it" Future Lucy replied hurrying to her feet, at that exact moment Hiro sensed another aura _"Long time no see, brother" _a voice spoke in his head, _"Zeref…"_ Hiro wondered. "Are you coming…?" Future Lucy asked him excitedly. "No…I guess I'm still recovering from the gate's affect's you go ahead" Hiro declared. "Alright, stay right here…I'll be back for you" she replied. Hiro nodded his head in acknowledgement "Hey Lucy…" he called out as Lucy turned to look at him "You're kinda the first friend I've ever had" he said smiling at her "Thank you…" . Lucy smiled back genuinely at him "I'm glad, we met Hiro…" she replied smiling at him. Future Lucy stopped and turned towards Hiro "Hey Hiro a piece of advice, whatever you tell Natsu and the other's, don't mention Zeref or the Etherious, they've been through a lot in the past, and trust me it won't end well. Just try to find a good time to reveal that information." she replied, realizing she had to be at the match " Great, I'm going to miss his match, see you soon Hiro…" she called out frantically, running out of sight.

"Zeref…?" Hiro called out, a black mist appeared around him as Zeref teleported right infront of him. "Was starting to think you would never come little bro…" he replied smiling as Hiro ran and hugged his oldest brother. "Alright, let's go even with me hiding my aura, my curse is uncontrollable and we maybe found" he replied holding Hiro's hand preparing to teleport. "Where are we…." Hiro didn't get to finish his sentence as Zeref teleported him to a clearing with a huge hut, it wasn't grand or anything but it had a homely feel to it.

"This is the place I come to when I want to get away from the people and all the war and misery and pain or my curse starts acting up" Zeref replied."You don't know the horror's I've seen brother, they were a few times, where I felt that the Beast's and Dragon's were much better when compared to the thing's that Humans or Mages would do" Zeref replied disgusted. "But that's not what we're here for, this is a place for you to rest, you need to recover the lost Ethernano in you, if you want to get back to how you were and for that you'll need to rest, we'll talk when your awake" Zeref replied.

"You knew about me being stuck in the Eclipse Gate, why didn't you do something ?" Hiro demanded. "My name has become very notorious little brother and the only Celestial Mage that I had any connection's with was Anna, and when Natsu and the other's arrived they were all separated, I couldn't even find Anna, but most importantly I never saw you exiting the Gate and I knew you were in trouble I was searching for means to rescue you, but then I suddenly felt your aura after all these years, it resembles Uncle's but your's is unique and I knew my brother was back and well I'm here" Zeref replied.

"And you want me to believe you found no solution in 400 years ?" Hiro asked him. "You were stuck inside the Gate Hiro, not in some other timeline for me to save you in an instant, not to mention the constant struggle I had with my curse" Zeref growled in frustration. "I'm sorry brother, I didn't mean to…" Hiro apologised. "Just rest for now, you need it, we'll talk later" Zeref replied as Hiro went into the hut to the bed and fell asleep the instant he hit the mattress.

* * *

Hiro suddenly found himself being violently woken up by Zeref "What's…what's going on…?" Hiro asked tired and upset at being woken up. "Well….you were asleep for quiet a while and well Dragon's are attacking the Capital Crocus" he replied calmly as Hiro's sleep vanished in an instant. "But Lucy said…that she would make sure the Dragon's never make it through that was her purpose of coming here" Hiro began to mumble to himself. "Well, we need to leave, I maybe immortal but you're not…" Zeref replied. "And were going to leave our brother Natsu to face those Dragons…?" Hiro demanded. "Natsu will be fine he has all those Mages looking after him, my priority is to keep you safe" Zeref declared.

"Why…is keeping me safe so important to you…?" Hiro demanded. Zeref looked sadly at him "Because if Natsu doesn't survive or reach his potential then you're the only one who can help me defeat Acnologia" Zeref replied "And you'd be the only one strong enough to end my life". Hiro froze after hearing the last part "What do you mean Zeref…?" he demanded. "I'm done Hiro after everything I've been through in the last 400 years, I'm done with this immortality and curse, I just want it to end, Natsu and you are probably the only one's who could do it" Zeref replied.

"Hold that thought of your's, I'm going to save Natsu and then we can continue this conversation, can you handle that…?" Hiro questioned his brother. "I've waited Centuries, what's a few more days" Zeref replied. "That's the spirit, alright now take me as close as you can to Natsu" Hiro replied as Zeref glared at him "Look they won't even know you were there, just drop me and leave" Hiro pleaded. Zeref gave in "Fine, I'll do it but I swear Hiro, if you go killing yourself, it won't be good". "Agreed, let's go…" Hiro declared an excited grin on his face.

Zeref teleported Hiro right in the middle of the city,Hiro was met with a sight where they were atleast seven Dragons were already outside causing having Havoc while other Dragons were struggling against a closing Eclipse Gate. Hiro immediately jumped into action, he began to run towards the Gate his hood up covering his face, charging up his aura while Zeref teleported himself away.

Hiro charged at the Gate his purple aura glowing as everyone on the battlefield froze Natsu and Future Rogue stopped their battle sensing the aura that had appeared, the Dragons battling and the Dragons struggling in the Eclipse Gate froze as well, while the ones helping with closing the gate looked on in shock at the sudden appearance "Chaos Dragon Roar" Hiro screamed blasting a powerful blast straight into the struggling Dragons, giving the people closing the gate the opportunity to close the the gate was closed Lucy and the others turned looking for the person that had helped them out, but he was nowhere to be found.

Natsu and Future Rogue looked at each other "Did…you sense that aura..?" Natsu asked Rogue. "Acnologia, I could never forget his aura, not to mention that attack" Rogue responded. _"Why would he help us…?"_ Natsu began to wonder. Future Rogue taking advantage of Natsu's distraction began to attack.

Hiro stood afar looking at the Dragons battling the Mages, it looked like the Slayers were facing off against Dragons while the one's on the ground were battling what looked like minions of the Dragons, he didn't really have the time to figure thing's out, he had to take the Dragon's down now. Hiro found himself staring at one of the Dragon Slayers, with a similar purplish aura as his, fighting a huge Rock Dragon. Hiro grinned to himself "Alright, I've got my target" he whispered to himself charging up his aura as well, the two fighters stopped staring at the sudden interference.

"Who…are you..?" Cobra demanded,What was weird to Cobra was the fact that it seemed like he couldn't read the thought's of this person and even more weird was the fact that Cobra could smell a similar scent to Natsu from this person. "No one…just a passerby, I'm here to lend you a hand" Hiro replied grinning his aura rising. " Acnologia….no this can't be" The Rock Dragon replied moving away from the two of them as Cobra turned to look at Hiro _"This….is Acnologia, wasn't he a Dragon?" _he thought to himself. Hiro was having the time of his life his aura made people think he was Acnologia, those that had faced him and knew his aura that is, "Alright you there, I need your help with this, keep him distracted and get me an opening" Hiro demanded. "Who…do you think you are ?, Ordering me around…?" Cobra retorted. "Do you want to take that beast down, then do as I tell you…" Hiro replied.

Cobra agreed hesitantly as both Hiro and Cobra began to attack the Rock Dragon, who was furious and worried at Hiro's involvement in the attack. With Cobra distracting the Dragon, Hiro began to strategically attack him searching for any weak points to manipulate. Cobra on the other hand was distracted by Hiro's identity and that distraction turned out to be costly for Cobra as The Rock Dragon took advantage of his distraction and pinned him to the ground. While Hiro seemed to finally have a breakthrough in figuring the Dragons weak spot, he found that the person that he was teaming up with was pinned by the Dragon. Hiro now had to decide if risking and taking the Dragon down was more important or saving the Mage.

Suddenly to his surprise Hiro found himself facing the Dragon once again, knowing exactly what was going to happen in the next few moments, it was like he had travelled back in time without the need for the Eclipse Gate. Cobra ended up evading getting pinned by the Dragon as Hiro took the chance and broke through the Dragon's thick hide, with a well placed Chaos Dragon Roar as the Rock Dragon roared in pain.

"So what element do you use…?" Hiro asked Cobra who looked at him in bewilderment " Poison element, why..?". Hiro grinned "Think your poison can bring the beast down…?" Hiro questioned. Cobra grinned catching onto Hiro's drift "Why ?, too weak to take down the Rock Dragon…" Cobra retorted. "Just checking to see if you Dragon Slayers are really worth your name" Hiro replied, as Cobra grinned "Go ahead and distract the big oaf for me then" he remarked. Hiro took the reigns from Cobra, gathering up his aura and charging at the Rock Dragon targeting his knees and bringing the Dragon down to his knees making it an easier target for Cobra.

Cobra finally let out his Poison Dragon Roar straight into the open wound of the Rock Dragon as the Dragon groaned in even more pain, Hiro kept dodging and doing his best to tire the Dragon out as Cobra joined him, but the poison was evidently taking longer even with the quantity of poison Cobra had used in his attack, the Dragon was just too big for it to effect him quickly.

The Rock Dragon sensing something wrong went into a frenzy letting out a huge roar, Hiro sensing the danger in the attack used himself to block the attack "Shield of Choas" he roared as a huge wall of his aura spread around the attack containing it but the blast ended up hitting him, after the blast had cleared, it looked like Cobra's poison was finally taking effect as the Dragon finally fell down exhausted and in pain "What have you done to me, you insect's ?" he demanded. "Nothing…that you wouldn't have done to us" Cobra remarked as the Dragon scowled and roared in pain.

Hiro stood up recovering from the blast, when he realised his hood was burnt and his cloak was now in tatters. Cobra turned his head to look for his partner, when he saw Hiro, Cobra stood stunned as he saw Natsu's face with longer spiky black hair. The Rock Dragon seizing the moment struggled to lift his wings and began to fly away. Cobra wished he had Cubellios in such times but he turned towards Hiro addressing him "Hey, you Natsu look alike, get ready I'll send you after him…." Cobra barked. "Natsu…look alike…?" Hiro growled but the next second he felt himself flying towards the Rock Dragon as Cobra had let out a powerful sound wave pushing Hiro upwards.

Hiro focused on the Dragon in front of him angling himself forming his Execution Blades as he tore through the Dragon's under belly catching the Dragon's wings and holding on as the Dragon went crashing to the ground. The Dragon's aura seemed to finally be fading rapidly as he turned towards Hiro "Who…are you…?" he asked in pain. "I am the Chaos Dragon Slayer" Hiro replied, using his Execution Blades to tear away the Dragons head. Cobra who watched the Rock Dragon fall sighed in relief lying down exhausted.

"_One down, six more to go"_ Hiro thought to himself, but to his surprise he saw Natsu fighting alongside one of the Dragons, making it obvious to him that Dragons and humans could get along with each other, but to his shock the other Dragons had ganged up on the Fire Dragon as he was gaining the upper hand. Natsu luckily had made it onto the adamantine Dragon and was fighting another Human but the Fire Dragon seemed to give Natsu his fire before being engulfed by the rest of the Dragons.

Hiro growled furiously, even though he didn't know the Dragon, he felt he had seen enough of innocent Dragons give up their lives as he ran full speed towards those Dragons that had converged on the Fire Dragon. Mages had converged and fighting what looked like hatchlings from one of the Dragons, Hiro ran past the hatchlings taking out those that stood in his path. Hiro managed to make a mask of sorts with clothing left from hood and cloak now standing bare chested before the Dragons, he could see it was a good idea covering his identity as what he could tell from their aura's Dragon Slayers stood along with a few other scattered mages around the Dragons as the Dragons planned on choosing their opponents.

Hiro clenched his fists, as he saw the Fire Dragon that was helping Natsu lay there on its last breath. Hiro ran to the Dragon falling down to a knee and asking him his name but the Dragons around immediately tensed up as they sensed the aura, the Dragon Slayers and most of the Mages became vigilant as well staring at Hiro. "Thank you my friend" Hiro said bowing his head to the Fire Dragon "Please may I know your name". Atlas scoffed "Don't mock me boy, why would a spawn of Acnologia want my name?".

"I assure you, I may feel like Acnologia to you, but I'm not. I want to know your name so I can thank the Dragon that saved the life of my brother" Hiro replied removing his mask in such a way that only Atlas could look at his face. Atlas was shocked upon looking at Hiro "So…you're a son of Igneel too ?" Atlas asked laughing. "No…not really Hiro replied but Atlas continued "Igneel, sure knows how to pick his offsprings" Atlas smiled a sad smile "My name is The Eternal Flame Atlas boy". "Thank you Atlas, for everything you've done" Hiro replied bowing in respect to Atlas. "Take care of yourself and your brother boy" Atlas addressed Hiro before looking to the sky "I'll be seeing you soon Igneel" he told to the skies, as he began the fire faded away leaving only a husk of what was once Atlas.

Hiro stood up as his aura rose considerably, the earth cracking beneath his feet and this time the Dragons and Mages alike took up defensive stances. "Now which one of you is the strongest…?" Hiro demanded addressing the Dragons, tears brimming in his eyes. One of the Dragons stepped forward "I Zirconis am the strongest..?, tell me boy why do you reek of the aura of the Dragon Slayer of Chaos…?" the Dragon growled, when another stepped forward claiming that he was the stronger Dragon, soon the Dragons started arguing as the Dragon Slayers stood facing Hiro, "Who…are you…?" a Slayer with lightning flowing around him demanded, "Acnologia…?" one of the other Slayers with blonde hair questioned.

"Relax, if It was Acnologia you all would be dead already, that said I'm on your side, do me a favour and handle the rest of the Dragon's if you can" Hiro remarked. As he stepped upto the Dragons his aura rising demanding the Dragon's attention back at Hiro "Alright whose doing this…?" he demanded. "Go ahead Zirconis this is all you" the Dragons stated. As they turned to their attention to other Slayers around.

"Alright Zirconis was it…?. Today's your last day so enjoy your fight" he replied grinning as Zirconis laughed "Don't fool yourself boy" he barked, but Hiro was already on the offensive as he slammed into Zirconis side creating a sonic boom that levelled the buildings around them. As the groups got separated in their fights Hiro seemed to be having an advantage against the collosal sized Zirconis who didn't seem to have any answer to Hiro's speed or attack Hiro on his own, Hiro expected this from all the previous experiences he had fighting Dragons or watching Dragons fight and he knew that the real fight would begin once Zirconis transformed to his human form.

"Go…on then get to your human form maybe then, you'd give me an actual fight" Hiro mocked him. "How…dare you, you puny human, Chaos Slayer or not, no one disrespects me" Zirconis growled as he began to transform in a greyish hue as his body shrunk to a human size. To Zirconis credit actually, Hiro felt that of all the Human transformations he had seen Zirconis had the most normal transformations among all.

The Dragons froze in shock telepathically communicating with each other "Did that kid…force Zirconis to transform…?" Levi asked. "That kid might be the real deal….i'm excited" Scissor Runner added. "Focus on your fight's you idiot's, let's get rid of these pesky humans and have a feast" Dark Dragon replied.

"Now…you've done it boy, it's been…" Zirconis began to say but Hiro interrupted him "Yeah, yeah I know it's been centuries since you transformed, can we get on with this…?" Hiro retorted as Zirconis growled at him charging at such a speed that even Hiro was taken by surprise. Zirconis seemed to be almost as fast as Acnologia as Hiro was barely managing to dodge him.

Zirconis slowly seemed to be taking the lead as Hiro began to get pummelled each hit causing more shock waves that caused harm to the surroundings. Hiro never one to backdown began to fight as hard as he could sending a roar at Zirconis who retaliated with his own but Hiro changed directions mid way attacking Zirconis from the side, who caught onto Hiro's plan and turned firing a roar of his own this time point blank at Hiro, but Hiro charged through the roar wounding Zirconis across the face and chest. "How dare you, boy…?" Zirconis growled snarling at Hiro staring at his open wounds. "Don't worry my Uncle says scars are to be worn with pride and that scars are a symbol of a warrior. So, that will make a good scar, even if you're dead before you can appreciate it" Hiro replied.

At that moment everything went crazy as the Dragon that Natsu was fighting on began to fall at an incredible speed and it seemed to be falling towards the Eclipse Gate and as Hiro and Zirconis watched on the Dragon fell through the Eclipse Gate, getting himself pierced through the chest, as all the hatchlings that it controlled began to wither away, Zirconis grew furious screaming in frustration. Hiro seizing the opportunity pierced right through Zirconis chest as he began to cough taken aback by the surprise attack. The next thing Zirconis knew Hiro's blades swept from the sides as everything went dark for him. Hiro had chopped off Zirconis head as the Dragon's body transformed back leaving the head severed and laying on the rest of the Dragon's watched in horror as both their companion's lay executed the remaining three Dragon's fearing for their life flew away from the Battle as fast as they could. Hiro sighed in relief but knew that he had to get out of there and left as well.

"Are we letting them go…?" Rogue asked nonplussed. "Let them be…we are seven Dragon Slayers and they are three Dragon's if they ever try to attack us we will annihilate them" Laxus replied "Plus it doesn't seem like we are anywhere close to continuing this war" he concluded. Rogue and Sting didn't say anything as they stared at the figures flying away.

* * *

Lucy hurried as fast as she could towards the gate's running towards Natsu who was standing still in shock and on the floor lay Future Rogue a puncture wound in his abdomen, his eyes staring blankly at the sky. Lucy ran as fast as she could and hugged Natsu cradling him in her arms as Natsu broke down the tears pouring from his eyes "I didn't mean to Lucy, I was aiming to destroy the gate and then the Dragon…and Ro..rogue…" Natsu began to stammer as he bawled his eyes out.

Lucy held him close not saying anything as he sobbed " It's alright Natsu, you didn't mean to, it just happened…" she tried to console him, tears falling from her eyes as well "Our Rogue is fine…". "We could have saved him, I…I could have saved him" he replied still trying to find an explanation a answer anything to overcome this feeling of guilt and pain that he had. "Will we be allowed to bury his body…?" Natsu asked her sniffing. "I don't know Natsu it's upto the King" Lucy replied holding his head in her lap now. "Lucy…I mean Future you, her body we need to bury it and pay her our respects" Natsu tried to get up in a hurry as Lucy pulled him right back "Natsu, rest for now, the other's will take care of it" she replied as Natsu felt the exhaustion take over him as he reluctantly put his head back on Lucy's lap and felt himsef drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**AN: **Thank you for the favourites and follows guys, Enjoy the Chapter guys and R&R :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Hiro had returned to Zeref who was patiently waiting for him "You sure you didn't go overboard…?" Zeref asked him, Hiro just raised an eyebrow in question "You're still reeling from the effects of the Gate and you decided to hitch a ride on one of the Dragons, not to mention, trying to fight another one single handed…?" Zeref questioned groaning in frustration. "Well…you could have helped me out then…" Hiro replied. "I don't think it's time for me to reveal myself brother, especially to the Fairies" Zeref replied. "C'mon let's go home, we can discuss things more after you've rested" Zeref declared as they teleported back.

"Think, you've gotten accustomed to this place…?" Zeref asked him once they had reached the place. "Pretty sure I can make it back here, my Dragon senses have never failed me yet" Hiro responded. "Good, cause I'll be making some ruins here to prevent any intruders from coming to this place" Zeref replied. "You can do that…?" Hiro asked amazed. "What do you think I've been doing all these years" Zeref retorted a smirk on his face. Hiro just scoffed "How will this barricade or ruin, whatever you call it work…?" he asked Zeref. "Well…for starters, it causes an illusion making it like there's only the forest around, though I couldn't manage a powerful illusion, so I guess others could definitely sense something amiss in the area, that said the ruin is specifically made so that only people with our blood can enter this place" Zeref replied. "So Natsu can enter…that's ingenious of you" Hiro replied "You know Anna always would tell me that of us three brothers, you're the most talented and brilliant when it came to magic and it always irked me, but now I see, she was definitely right" Hiro stated. "I wouldn't take that as a compliment especially when the competition is you and Natsu" Zeref replied as Hiro scowled at him.

Zeref's face was suddenly somber "Hiro…remember the talk we had before you left to face the Dragons ?" he questioned. Hiro's face grew serious "Zeref, if you think for one second that I came all this way to the future only to kill you and possibly even Uncle, you're sadly mistaken my brother" he remarked glaring at his eldest brother. Zeref placed his hand on Hiro's shoulder in a comforting gesture "Hiro, little brother, I have had my share of life, 400 years of it, if anything I deserve to finally be at peace from this cursed life" he replied. "No what you need is to be free of this damned curse and immortality, once we do that Natsu, you and I, we can finally be a family once again" Hiro replied.

Zeref smiled to himself "Do not worry Hiro, I have a plan. When it works Natsu, you and I, will finally be together with Mom and Dad and none of the things that we went through would ever happen, I'll make sure of that" Zeref replied "Ending my cursed life is just a backup plan" he replied laughing awkwardly as Hiro frowned "What do you mean like the Time Travel…?, like the Eclipse Gate…?" Hiro enquired. "Not exactly, I don't have all the details sorted out yet, but I'm working on it, I still need one thing though, without which, none of this will work" Zeref replied. "Natsu….?" Hiro asked him, "I would like my brothers to be my side sure, but what I'm talking about is even more essential" Zeref replied. "What about Uncle…I mean Acnologia…?" Hiro demanded confused. "If we do get this weapon we could guarantee Acnologia's defeat" Zeref responded.

"What kinda weapon is this…?" Hiro asked intrigued. "Well…I guess there's no point in hiding anything from you, the weapon is someone who I cared about very much, I guess you could say I loved her" Zeref replied. "Zeref, you know, how your curse works, I thought you made it a point to avoid having any feelings of that sort, you even made it a point to keep Natsu away from you for this reason, how could you end up doing something like that…?" Hiro demanded his face a little pale. "Well after centuries of roaming the earth forgive me, for actually bringing my shields down and feeling some sort of emotion" Zeref retorted. "Is she….?" Hiro left the question hanging. "No…I mean yes, I mean its complicated, she ended up getting cursed like me" Zeref replied.

Hiro froze "She had the same curse as you…?, How…?" he demanded. "I thought her a spell that Anksheram thought me, but it required a really powerful and determined Mage, to make use of it. Now that I come to think of it, I was stupid to think Anksheram would let me use his magic to protect people, especially when he gave me this curse" Zeref grumbled smashing his fists into a tree as it withered. "Zeref, brother get a hold of yourself…" Hiro tried to calm his brother. "I'm sorry, so the long story short, she eventually faced an enemy that was too strong even for her and her guild and to save the people she used the curse that I had thought her, it did save the town and the guild but it ended up getting her cursed" Zeref completed his narration. "Guild…?" Hiro asked him raising an eyebrow in question. "I forget you weren't here for the past few centuries" Zeref replied as he explained "Guilds are places where Mages form groups in order to work in exchange for Jewels". Hiro nodded his head "So…what happened to her…? he asked.

Zeref began pacing around "Well her curse ended up taking one of her friends life, just like mine did and she left her guild and ran away, when we finally met, I confessed to her about my feelings" Zeref stopped as his voice began to crack. "Zeref, you don't have to talk about it, I get it your curse took affect didn't it ?" Hiro questioned as Zeref simply nodded his head. "What I don't get is how did she end up being this weapon, you keep talking about" Hiro questioned. "Apparently one of her friends from her guild found her, she was possibly on the verge of death, but he managed to save her atleast sort of, by concealing her in a lacrima" Zeref continued "I don't have all the answers Hiro, but she has become a source for infinite magic". "Infinite magic…?" Hiro wondered "Even with infinite magic, I don't see how that would be effective against Acnologia ?" he questioned. Zeref sighed "Look once my plan works, we wouldn't have to worry about Acnologia, if we save Dad and Mom, they would definitely stop Uncle from going down this route, are you with me on this Hiro…?" Zeref questioned him in return.

Hiro stood still as Zeref began to worry a little "Hiro…?" he called out. "I just thought we would be able to save Uncle, here like right now in the present" Hiro answered. Zeref smiled "I mean we can try you know, we can use physical attacks on him and with my infinite magic and Immortality I wouldn't get tired or hurt so, you know it probably could work" he tried reassuring Hiro.

"So…like how do I get this weapon for you…?" Hiro asked Zeref. "Call her Lumen Histoire and lucky for us, her location is known to the people of the guild that Natsu is a part of" Zeref replied. "So we can achieve both are objectives huh, quite convenient" Hiro remarked. "Well…call it fate or whatever you want Hiro, but this makes things very simple for you" Zeref replied. Hiro smirked "Let me guess I need to go and convince this guild" he paused as Zeref answered "Fairy Tail…". "Right…so I need to convince Natsu to join you and I, not just that I have to convince Fairy Tail to handover their Infinite Magic source Lumen Histoire to us, yup sounds very simple" he mocked Zeref. "I know this isnt the easiest of tasks brother, but if you do get Natsu on your side, I'm pretty sure thing's will be much more easier" Zeref replied. "So…where is this Fairy Tail…?" Hiro enquired.

* * *

Lucy had just woken up from her sleep as she felt someone move around in her apartment. "Natsu…" she let out a shriek when she saw the Salmon haired Dragon Slayer grin at her apologetically "Yo Luce, I'm sorry didn't mean to wake you…" he apologised. "Natsu…what are you doing at this time of the night sneaking into my house ?" Lucy demanded furiously as Natsu grinned scratching his neck nervously "I just wanted to drop Happy over here before I left…" he replied sighing. As he lay Happy down on the couch careful not to wake the Exceed, he found Lucy glaring at him furiously right in his face now "Where do you think you're going…? she demanded. "I was…I was just you know going….for a walk..clear my head" Natsu found himself mumbling as Lucy was still glaring at him. "We can go for a walk together later in the morning, just stay here with Happy for now and don't you dare think about leaving the Guild, because of what happened, especially since you know she would want you to be there for her memorial, I'd hoped you weren't that dumb to run away, especially not when you needed the support of your friends" Lucy began to rant as Natsu held her arms interrupting her rant. "You know I would never miss tommorow Lucy, I would never forgive myself if I didn't get to pay Future you, I mean Future Lucy my respects" he said rubbing his eyes with his scarf as he turned away from Lucy.

Lucy stepped closer to him "And why were you going on a walk…?" she asked him. "It's nothing I just couldn't sleep and thought if I go for a walk, I would feel sleepy" Natsu answered sitting on the free couch as Lucy came and sat on the arm of the couch hugging Natsu "You want to talk about it ?" she asked him "I really shouldn't spoil your sleep, you should go back to sleep I'll fall asleep when I feel sleepy" Natsu replied. "Yeah sure, I'll go to sleep while you keep pondering about all this stuff, you need to rest Natsu" Lucy replied her tone strict but caring at the same time. "I thought you would be more than willing to kick me and Happy out of your house ?" Natsu asked surprised. "It's because you people fall asleep on my bed and I'm forced to sleep on the couch sometimes" Lucy replied frustrated at Natsu's taunt.

"Well..you kick us out of your bed most of the times" Natsu replied as Lucy stared a death glare at Natsu that shut him up "I'm sorry… i know I just take you for granted Luce" he said hugging her back as Lucy blushed "After everything that happened with Future Lucy, I realised how much you tolerate me and Happy, Thank you" Natsu said staring directly at her face his onyx eyes staring into her own as she felt herself lose her speech her cheeks still tinted pink "You're welcome Natsu, but I don't tolerate Happy and you, you're my friends and no matter how much you get on my nerves my life wouldn't be the same without you" she replied smiling at him. "Friends…?, I thought we were Partners" Natsu stated "Wait are Friends more close or are Partners ?" Natsu questioned himself looking at Lucy for answers. "Well that depends on what type of Partners they are" Lucy felt the reply escaping her lips as she blushed furiously but apparently Natsu didn't understand what she had just said.

"What do you mean…?" Natsu asked confused. "Nothing, but I thought everyone in the Guild told you, that you shouldn't blame yourself about Future Rogue's death" she replied as Natsu stared at her "No…Gramps and the others made sure I understand that I wasn't the one to be blamed for Future Rogue, but I just you know worry that if we face any other situation like that I may end up hurting my friends again" Natsu replied. Lucy suddenly realised what Natsu had been planning, "You were never going on that walk where you…?" she demanded "You were going after Acnologia or whoever that was that took down those Dragons that day" she concluded. "How did you do that….? How did you figure that out…?" Natsu asked shocked and impressed at the same time. "Well, you didn't have to drag Happy all the way to my house, if you were just going for a walk and you just said if we faced any situation as if it occurred recently or was going to and connecting what was the biggest concern to the Guild, I figured you were going after whoever the individual was that had Acnologia's aura" Lucy replied proud of herself.

"That was amazing Lucy" Natsu replied amazed at her deduction. "Thank you Natsu…." she replied. "Well…since you already know I hope you'll cover for me until I make it to the memorial then" he replied making a move towards the window when Lucy blocked his path again. "Oh c'mon Lucy…" Natsu groaned. "Natsu Dragneel, you promised you would be there on time for the memorial, I'm not going to let you go challenging another possibly dangerous Mage, no matter your reason to do so" she declared as Natsu frowned at her "But..i'm really not sleepy Lucy" Natsu pleaded. "Natsu you will go to sleep" Lucy declared. A dejected Natsu finally relented "Fine…but I want to sleep on your bed, I won't fall asleep on the couch" he replied. "Oh…what the hell, fine…but this is the last time Natsu, I'm warning you…" she responded. Natsu grinned "No promises Luce…" he replied carrying Happy along with him. "You only have yourself to blame Lucy" she whispered to herself as she tried to make herself comfortable on the couch. _"But atleast he'll be able to sleep" _she thought to herself.

* * *

Hiro had to stay away from the memorial for Future Lucy or risk someone from the Guild sensing his presence. But what ended up being the most shocking event of the day was when Zeref had information given to him by certain spies, Hiro was shocked to say the least, how did someone that was known as the Black Mage on the continent of Ishgar (he had learnt about names and other information from Zeref), manage to hire spies to work for him. That's when Zeref revealed to him, that he was also an Emperor of a neighbouring continent known as Alvarez and that it's sole purpose was to invade and attack Ishgar, Hiro had no doubt, the invasion was intended for Lumen Histoire. And finally after receiving the intel on where Fairy Tail and in essence Natsu would be present for the day, Hiro had found himself here on a hillside in Fiore facing a cemetery it wasn't fancy but the scenery was quite serene and beautiful, but what he hadn't realised was the memorial was for Future Lucy. As his Dragon senses picked up on the ceremony, Hiro silently wished for Future Lucy to be happy wherever she was.

The ceremony lasted quite long as Hiro was growing impatient, the time where he would meet his Older brother was drawing near and he felt his nerves on edge anticipating the moment. Finally after what felt like an eternity the crowd began to disperse Hiro had plucked a few flowers from the hill forming a bunch and covered his face with his hood making his way to the cemetery. The last few people paying their respects and moving on, to Hiro's surprise he noticed they all had a similar mark on them. Zeref had told Hiro about Natsu and so Hiro was on the lookout for Salmon hair in the crowd but he couldn't find him._ "If I don't find him here, I'll have to go to Fairy Tail" _ Hiro thought to himself.

Hiro decided he would pay his respects to Lucy before going on his hunt for Natsu. As he Hiro knelt down silently paying respect, he felt someone approach him. "Thought you would show up sooner or later, good thing I didn't leave" the guy responded. Hiro stood up to look at the person when the first thing he noticed was the Salmon hair that Zeref had spoken about, even the style of his hair was similar to that of the picture Zeref had shown of his Father "Natsu…?" Hiro called out as Natsu frowned "Who are you…? and why does your aura feel like Acnologia…?" he demanded. "My name is Hiro Dragneel and isn't it obvious brother, I feel like Acnologia because my powers are similar to his" Hiro replied. It took a minute for Natsu to realise what Hiro had just said, as he screamed "Wait..what..?, brother…?". Hiro knew he had to convince Natsu now and so he removed his hood revealing his face to Natsu, who was shocked to see a face identical to his just with Black hair, rather than his signature Salmon hair.

"Did…Natsu just scream brother…?" Lucy asked surprised. "I thought I heard the same thing and I have Dragon hearing" Wendy replied. "Would you to shut up they are Dragon Slayers" Erza replied pointing at the two brothers "They might notice us" she replied glaring at them. "Too late the Acnologia guy" is already glaring at us from all the way there" Gray replied as Juvia for the first time still beside him was silent staring at the scene unfolding. "Hiro" Gajeel spoke up, "Huh…what…?" Gray asked him. Gajeel answered "The hooded guy, he says his name is Hiro, Hiro Dragneel and he says he's…" The group spoke up collectively "Natsu's brother", Gajeel nodded.

As the hooded figure removed his hood to reveal his face Lucy was surprised to find Natsu's face staring back at them. The only difference being the two peoples skin tones and hair. The whole group started having a discussion. "Black really looks good on Natsu-san" Wendy replied, "Doesn't this other Natsu" Gray began as Gajeel interjected "Hiro…". "Fine, geez what's gotten you on edge, doesn't this Hiro guy look a tad more ripped than Natsu…?" he questioned. "Gray-Sama don't stare at Natsu-san's body" Juvia began to cry as Gray tried to ignore her "That's nowhere near what I was doing" he muttered furiously, which only resulted in her hugging him in a death grip. Lucy didn't join in the others she wanted to see what was going on among the two and if this Hiro, was really Natsu's brother, the next second though Gajeel disappeared into his shadows making his way to the two Dragneels but he did ask Erza to call Mira and check if this impostor was using transformation magic. "Why did he do that…?" Lucy asked the others "Gajeel-san didn't make a move until, Hiro-san mentioned him having the same powers as Acnologia" Wendy answered.

"What ?…how ?,why do you look like me…?" Natsu asked flabbergasted. "Because I'm your brother.." Hiro declared like it was the most obvious thing. "Brother, Igneel never told me I had a brother" Natsu began to decipher what Hiro had just revealed. "As for the Acnologia thing, if Igneel thought you and you're the Fire Dragon Slayer…then I'm the Chaos Dragon Slayer" Hiro stated as Natsu looked at him none of what Hiro had said, made any sense to him. "A Chaos Dragon Slayer…?" Natsu questioned, _"I know Acnologia was called the Chaos Dragon and this Hiro said that he was thought Dragon Slaying by Acnologia, did that mean Acnologia and Igneel were friends, if my brother ended up being with Acnologia" _he wondered. "Natsu brother, I came all this way to find you and…" Hiro was cut short as something collided with him.

Natsu was shocked his mind was too preoccupied and he hadn't sensed him coming but Gajeel stood on the opposite end in his Iron Shadow Dragon form his patented club extending from his arm. But to the two Fairy Tail members surprise Hiro stood perfectly still and hadn't even moved an inch as he had caught the club in his fists. "Who the hell are you…?" Hiro growled furiously, then he noticed the marks on both Natsu and Gajeel, _"So this was what Zeref was going on about Guild marks, looks like this other Slayer is also from Fairy Tail" _he thought to himself_. _"Listen Iron Dragon I am not here for a fight, I just wanted to talk to my brother, if I really wanted to attack you guys, I would have done it long ago" Hiro replied. "I thought I sensed you, so you were spying on us" Gajeel declared. "I wouldn't call it spying on all of you, I just had my eye on Natsu that's it" Hiro retorted.

"Salamander, what's wrong don't tell me you believe this guy" Gajeel demanded. "I don't know he looks a lot like me" Natsu replied still standing rooted to the spot, still contemplating things. "Salamander, how about we take this guy down, it definitely looks like hes above our league" Gajeel said gritting his teeth " Now, I don't usually do this but I think the two of us need to work together to bring this guy down and make him reveal the truth" Gajeel said his focus still on Hiro who was listening in on the conversation with his Dragon hearing. "Fine….i promised Luce, that I wouldn't go after this guy, but well the memorial's over so I guess I kinda did keep my promise" Natsu muttered grinning. "I'm all fired up now" he declared as his aura spread the Fire raging around his body.

"Natsu…?, why…?" Hiro questioned as Gajeel and Natsu dashed towards him, Hiro kicked at Gajeel who retreated into the shadows, but when Natsu tried to land a hit on Hiro, Hiro darted under the punch and caught Natsu in a choke. Hiro made sure he had a firm grip on Natsu, but that it wasn't choking him out. "Natsu…why are you doing this…?" Hiro demanded to his surprise Natsu grinned back at him "You helped us out against the Dragons and I didn't sense anything malicious in your aura either, so brother or not I would love to see how strong you are" Natsu gasped through the choke hold. Gajeel tried to attack from behind, Hiro held Natsu with one hand and managed to block Gajeel with the other but that's when a third attack hit him from the side, forcing him to dodge the attack in the process freeing both Natsu and Gajeel.

Hiro turned to see who it was that had attacked him and found himself facing a woman with blazing red hair in a silver shining armour. "So…you're their Knight in shining armour…?" Hiro asked in a mocking tone. "Perhaps, but you do realise what Knights do to Dragons, don't you…?" Erza retorted. Hiro grinned but to his astonishment a fourth person interfered from the looks of it she was a female demon. _"Fairy Tail has other demons apart from him…?" _Hiro wondered.

"Mira…what are you doing here…?" Erza questioned half annoyed and half relieved. "Lucy told us everything and apparently, Gajeel asked for me to help you out" Mira responded. "Do you think…you can figure out, if he using a transformation spell ?" Erza asked her. "I could, but I would need him to stand still to do so" Mira answered. Gajeel strode towards the two of them "Transformation spell or not, now that I'm this close to this guy, it's evident he's atleast related to Salamander" Gajeel declared, when Erza and Mira raised an eyebrow in question Gajeel continued "As Dragon Slayers we can identify a person with their smell" he replied as Erza and Mira moved away from him instinctively. Gajeel rolled his eyes before continuing "As siblings Mirajane, you, Elfman and Lisanna have unique but almost identical smells and with the case of those two" he replied motioning to Natsu who was fallen on the ground and Hiro was checking on him "Their smells are as identical as they can be" Gajeel concluded.

At that moment lightning struck the ground in front of the trio as Laxus appeared in between them. "Where…are you Fairies dropping down from…?" Hiro groaned looking into the sky to see if they were more. "Don't worry I'll be the only one you'll have to worry about" Laxus replied as he turned into lightning to Hiro's surprise and the bolt rushed at him Laxus reappeared in front of Hiro slamming his fist into his face pushing him back as Hiro groaned. The rest of the Fairy Tail members stared in shock "He hit him, Laxus actually managed to land a hit on him" Gajeel stated astonished. "Another Dragon Slayer, though there's something off about your powers, either way why are you holding your powers back…?" Hiro questioned. "You think you can handle my full strength you barely stood up to me, just now" Laxus declared.

"I don't like this guy, brother or not Natsu, he manages to get on my nerves, the way you do" Laxus replied grinning as he tore of his shirt, his muscles bulging and lightning cackling all around him. Hiro interrupted him "Not here, the graves" he motioned to the graves around them as Laxus pointed to the hill that Hiro was hiding on "Let's go there" he declared vanishing in his lightning as Hiro seemed to disappear to the other Mages present there. "Hey guy's we finally made it…" Lucy stated as Gray glared at her you only wanted to come here, when Mira and Erza arrived" he stated huffing as Juvia stared daggers at her, Lisanna and Elfman stood to the side staring at the scene unfolding. Lucy noticed Natsu and ran to him "Are you alright…?" she asked him. "I'm fine…" he stated smiling at her. "I thought you promised not to fight, idiot" she stated huffing and crossing her arms glaring at him. "Well technically I only fought after the memorial so, technically I didn't break my promise" Natsu replied as Lucy huffed "You're hopeless" she replied.

"Well…I can't miss that fight, Happy let's go" Natsu declared as Happy responded "Aye…Sir" carrying him away to the hill, Gajeel and Wendy and Mira followed. "Sorry…Lucy I really want to see the fight too" Lisanna replied transforming into a rabbit and running off after her sister, "Can't let my sister's go alone, that's not what a man would do" Elfman stated transforming and running behind Lisanna. "Well that's it guys they have plenty of people, there to support Laxus, guess we are going back right…?" Lucy enquired turning to walk away when Erza held her back "No…we are going after them" she declared as her Magical Vehicle appeared in front of them "Now get in you three" she ordered pushing Gray onto Juvia who began to dream happily and smile at his face, but Juvia's face instantly grew furious when Lucy landed on top of Gray.


End file.
